Sample records for lysine-type peptidoglycan-induced toll

A problem in a tolling system like AutoPASS is the number of unidentified passages due to unreadable license plates. As a consequence money is lost for the toll road companies. A scheme is proposed that uses anonymous statistics to aid in the process of allocating resources for manual controls. Due to legal requirements for anonymity of data produced at toll plazas, a model that simulates the traffic frequencies on Norwegian roads is developed and implemented in Java. Using the toll plazas th...

. It also proposes a third scheme in which late in the rush hour drivers slow down or stop just before reaching a tolling point, and wait until the toll is lowered from one step to the next step. Such ‘braking’ behaviour has been observed in practice. Analytical derivations and numerical modelling s

The main focus of the master thesis lies on developing a methodology to analyse the accuracy of toll declarations within a satellite based toll system. This methodology employs two different approaches to determine reasons why Toll Service Providers (TSP) deliver toll declarations that show charge inaccuracies. Both approaches are carried out to analyse the results of the ARENA project’s field test which was held in April 2010 to test On Board Unit (OBU) solutions for toll collection. In part...

... 167713.html Cancer Takes Financial Toll, Even With Insurance 1 in 6 insured patients spends one-third ... of cancer treatment on people who have health insurance. The vast majority in the study had private ...

This paper deals with the efficiency of Norwegian toll companies. Efficiency and productivity are compared using different efficiency measurement approaches. The focus of the paper is to demonstrate differences in efficiency and productivity among Norwegian toll companies employing methodologies such as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). DEA and SFA both represent alternative methods of estimating frontier functions and measuring efficiency of ...

Toll-like receptors are vital transmembrane receptors that initiate the innate immune response to many micro-organisms. The discovery of these receptors has improved our understanding of host-pathogen interactions, and these receptors play an important role in the pathogenesis of multiple neonatal conditions such as sepsis and brain injury. Toll-like receptors, especially TLRs 2 and 4, are associated with necrotizing enterocolitis, periventricular leukomalacia and sepsis.

Mammalian Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are cellular pattern-recognizing receptors (PRRs) that recognize the molecular patterns of pathogens. After engaging the pathogenic patterned ligands, the cytosolic portion of the TLRs in monocytes and macrophages, recruits adaptor proteins, via a receptor-driven signaling cascade, activates the transcription factor NF-κB, leading to the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, which trigger inflammation. Such rapid, innate cellular responses serve as the first line of host defense against infection by pathogens, and also stimulate the adaptive immune system to clear the invading microbes. Increasing evidence suggests that TLRs also recognize host-derived ligands, linking this group of PRRs to diseases that may not have an etiology that is associated directly with infections. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are nonenzymatically glycated or oxidated proteins, lipids and nucleic acids that are formed in the environment of oxidant stress and hyperglycemia. Binding of AGEs to their receptor RAGE initiates cellular signals that activate NF-κB, which results in transcription of proinflammatory factors. RAGE can also interact with other endogenous ligands generated by cell death and tissue injuries. RAGE has been implicated in chronic diseases such as diabetes,atherosclerosis, neurodisorders, cancers, as well as aging. This review discusses the possible role of RAGE as a PRR that may use signaling mechanisms parallel to TLRs', to solicit inflammatory reactions. Thus, in this scenario,RAGE may play a prominent role in the regulation of cellular homeostasis in the context of complex disease progression.

Casualties are estimated for the 12 January 2010 earthquake in Haiti using various reports calibrated by observed building damage states from satellite imagery and reconnaissance reports on the ground. By investigating various damage reports, casualty estimates and burial figures, for a one year period from 12 January 2010 until 12 January 2011, there is also strong evidence that the official government figures of 316 000 total dead and missing, reported to have been caused by the earthquake, are significantly overestimated. The authors have examined damage and casualties report to arrive at their estimation that the median death toll is less than half of this value (±137 000). The authors show through a study of historical earthquake death tolls, that overestimates of earthquake death tolls occur in many cases, and is not unique to Haiti. As death toll is one of the key elements for determining the amount of aid and reconstruction funds that will be mobilized, scientific means to estimate death tolls should be applied. Studies of international aid in recent natural disasters reveal that large distributions of aid which do not match the respective needs may cause oversupply of help, aggravate corruption and social disruption rather than reduce them, and lead to distrust within the donor community.

...) communication on microprocessor control with an e-commerce business model. A simple ETC system architecture and protocol for e-transactions from vehicles to toll stations is proposed to complete toll interaction on wireless environment...

Full Text Available This paper investigates the welfare effects of optimal tolling on urban traffic congestion, in a bottleneck model, with mixed freight and passenger users. The users’ marginal utility of time is considered to be varying with time. Under both no-toll equilibrium and socially optimal tolling, the users are found to sort their arrival time according to the increasing rates of marginal utility at the destination. The optimal toll that maximizes social welfare does not change each user's indirect utilit y relative to the no-toll equilibrium, but completely removes the queue, which also removes the barrier of freight carriers to accept congestion pricing by relating their marginal utilities directly to the toll. When the toll is equally rebated, the proposed social optimal tolling is a Pareto improvement relative to the no-toll equilibrium. Those more productive users also suffer more in both no-toll equilibrium and optimal tolling, which indicates that a differentiated redistribution of toll revenues could be an incentive to improve productivity.

In most dynamic traffic congestion models, congestion tolls must vary continuously over time to achieve the full optimum. This is also the case in Vickrey's (1969) 'bottleneck model'. To date, the closest approximations of this ideal in practice have so-called 'step tolls', in which the toll takes o

Innate pattern recognition receptors are implicated in first-line defense against pathogens but also participate in maintenance of tissue homeostasis and response to injury. This chapter reviews the role of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in neuronal and glial responses that are associated with neurod...... of TLR signaling in the nervous system with capability for neurotoxocity and gliotoxicity....... with neurodegeneration. Accompanying roles for infection and inflammation, involvement in clinical neurodegenerative disorders, and heterogeneity of glial response are discussed. A "strength of signal" hypothesis is advanced in an attempt to reconcile evolutionarily selected and therefore likely beneficial effects...

... subscriber for toll telephone service furnished to the hotel or its guests, but no tax attaches to any charge made by the hotel for service rendered in placing the calls for its guests. (c) Cross reference. For... 26 Internal Revenue 16 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Toll telephone service. 49.4252-2 Section 49...

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are best known as initiators of the innate immune response to pathogens. Recent reports now reveal intriguing roles for TLRs in the central nervous system (CNS). These include the regulation of neuroinflammation and of neurite outgrowth. The archetypal Toll protein in D...

lane is always Pareto improving under Nash equilibrium in arrival times at the bottleneck and inelastic demand. It can replicate the arrival schedule and queueing outcomes of a toll that optimally charges a constant toll during part of the demand peak. Within some bounds, the fast lane scheme is still...

lane is always Pareto improving under Nash equilibrium in arrival times at the bottleneck and inelastic demand. It can replicate the arrival schedule and queueing outcomes of a toll that optimally charges a constant toll during part of the demand peak. Within some bounds, the fast lane scheme is still...

Full Text Available Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease with a high morbidity and nephritis is a common manifestation. Previous studies in murine lupus models have suggest a role for Toll-like receptor 2 and 4. We examined the role of these molecules in MRL lpr mice which is one of the most established and robust murine models. We compared disease parameters in Toll-like receptor 2 or Toll-like receptor 4 deficient mice with their littermate controls. We found no difference in the severity of glomerulonephritis as assessed by histology, serum creatinine and albuminuria when Toll-like receptor 2 or Toll-like receptor 4 deficient MRLlpr mice were compared with Toll-like receptor sufficient controls. We also found similar levels of anti-dsDNA and anti-ssDNA antibodies. These results show that Toll-like receptor 2 and Toll-like receptor 4 do not play a significant role in MRLlpr mice, and therefore they may not be important in human lupus.

Research regarding the magnitude of ultrafine particle levels at highway toll stations is limited. This study measured ambient concentrations of ultrafine particles at a highway toll station from October 30 to November 1 and November 5 to November 6, 2008. A scanning mobility particle sizer was used to measure ultrafine particle concentrations at a ticket/cash tollbooth. Levels of hourly average ultrafine particles at the tollbooth were about 3-6 times higher than those in urban backgrounds, indicating that a considerable amount of ultrafine particles are exhausted from passing vehicles. A bi-modal size distribution pattern with a dominant mode at about particle reactions in fresh fumes emitted directly from vehicles. The influences of traffic volume, wind speed, and relative humidity on ultrafine particle concentrations were also determined. High ambient concentrations of ultrafine particles existed under low wind speed, low relative humidity, and high traffic volume. Although different factors account for high ambient concentrations of ultrafine particles at the tollbooth, measurements indicate that toll collectors who work close to traffic emission sources have a high exposure risk.

Full Text Available Toll-like receptors (TLRs are a member of the innate immune system. TLRs detect invading pathogens through the pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs recognition and play an essential role in the host defense. TLRs can also sense a large number of endogenous molecules with the damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs that are produced under various injurious conditions. Animal studies of the last decade have demonstrated that TLR signaling contributes to the pathogenesis of the critical cardiac conditions, where myocardial inflammation plays a prominent role, such as ischemic myocardial injury, myocarditis, and septic cardiomyopathy. This paper reviews the animal data on (1 TLRs, TLR ligands, and the signal transduction system and (2 the important role of TLR signaling in these critical cardiac conditions.

Full Text Available Studies over the past decade have helped to decipher molecular networks dependent on Toll-like receptor (TLR signaling, in mycobacteria-infected macrophages. Stimulation of TLRs by mycobacteria and their antigenic components rapidly induces intracellular signaling cascades involved in the activation of nuclear factor-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways, which play important roles in orchestrating proinflammatory responses and innate defense through generation of a variety of antimicrobial effector molecules. Recent studies have provided evidence that mycobacterial TLR-signaling cross talks with other intracellular antimicrobial innate pathways, the autophagy process and functional vitamin D receptor signaling. In this article we describe recent advances in the recognition, responses, and regulation of mycobacterial signaling through TLRs.

Mycoplasmas, the smallest free-living, self-replicating bacteria with diameters of 200 to 800 nm, have been reported to be associated with human diseases. It is well known that the mycoplasma lipoprotein/peptide is able to modulate the host immune system, whose N-terminal structure is an important factor in inducing immunity and distinguishing Toll-like receptors (TLRs). However, there is still no clear elucidation about the pathogenic mechanism of mycoplasma lipoprotein/peptide and the signaling pathway. Some researchers have focused on understanding the structures of these proteins and the relationships between their structure and biological function. This review provides an update on the research in this field.

Full Text Available Toll-like receptors (TLRs are known as pattern-recognition receptors related to the Toll protein of Drosophila. After recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns of microbial origin, the TLRs alert the immune system, and initiate innate and adaptive immune responses. The TLR system, though, is not confined solely to the leukocyte-mediated immune defense against exogenous pathogens. Besides myeloid cells, TLR expression has been reported in multiple tissues and cell types, including epithelial and endothelial cells. Moreover, despite the microbial patterns that are commonly accepted as TLR ligands, there is increasing evidence that TLRs also recognize host-derived molecules. In this regard, recent studies point to an involvement of TLRs in various chronic inflammatory disorders and cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and even cancer. A common feature of these disorders is an enhanced so-called inflammation-induced angiogenesis. However, inflammation-induced angiogenesis is not solely a key component of pathogen defense during acute infection or chronic inflammatory disorders, but also plays a critical role in repair mechanisms, e.g., wound healing and subsequent tissue regeneration. Interestingly, the latest research could coincidentally demonstrate that TLR activation promotes angiogenesis in various inflammatory settings in response to both exogenous and endogenous ligands, although the precise mode of action of TLRs in this context still remains ambiguous. The objective of this review is to present evidence for the implication of TLRs in angiogenesis during physiological and pathophysiological processes, and the potential clinical relevance for new treatment regimes involving TLR modulation.

Reliable earthquake death toll estimate can provide valuable references for disaster relief headquarters and civil administration departments to make arrangement and deployment plan during post-earthquake relief work, thus increasing the efficiency of the relief work to a certain extent. In this study, we acquired the death toll data of Wenchuan earthquake, fitted the data using modified exponential curve and compared the result with that of the exponential function. Experimental verification with Chi-Chi earthquake and Kobe earthquake data shows that the fitted result by modified exponential curve is more satisfactory. The final death toll resulting from future destructive earthquakes can be estimated by the acquired fitting function.

Full Text Available This paper considers the problem of toll and capacity choice of a new highway with a bottleneck added onto an existing transit network under four ownership/tolling regimes: public fine toll, public flat toll, private fine toll, and private flat toll. Whenever fine toll and flat toll are imposed, in a competitive highway/transit network with constant returns to scale in road construction, an optimally designed and priced privately owned highway would produce positive net benefit justly equal to the total markup with respect to all autocommuters, whereas an optimally designed and priced publicly owned highway would lead to a deficit; that is, the toll revenues are insufficient to cover its all costs. The economic conditions to invest a new road are investigated under different ownership/tolling regimes.

BACKGROUND: Candidemia is a severe invasive fungal infection with high mortality. Recognition of Candida species is mediated through pattern recognition receptors such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs). This study assessed whether genetic variation in TLR signaling influences susceptibility to

Reviews some of the uses of the phone in crisis situations and describes a popular toll-free career information hotline in Virginia. Provides a profile of the mostly adult users along with a user evaluation of the service. (Author)

... https://medlineplus.gov/news/fullstory_163957.html Annual Death Toll From Alzheimer's Nearly Doubles in 15 Years ... to success in treating other leading causes of death, and partly due to increasing awareness that AD [ ...

... Bullying Takes Financial Toll on U.S. School Districts Absenteeism by fearful kids linked to an extra $276 ... researchers report. Data revealed that 10 percent of students missed at least one day of school in ...

Traffic network assignment is the last phase in the classical 4-phase traffic forecasting model. There are different methods of traffic assignment ranging from the most simple »all or nothing« method to the complex iterative methods such as Tribute method, however, only some of them are suitable for network assignment distribution modeling considering toll collection influence. For toll collection influence modeling we must consider the so called value of time. Value of time is indicated in t...

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are pattern-recognition receptors related to the Drosophila Toll protein. TLR activation alerts the immune system to microbial products and initiates innate and adaptive immune responses. The naturally powerful immunostimulatory property of TLR agonists can be exploited for active immunotherapy against cancer. Antitumor activity has been demonstrated in several cancers, and TLR agonists are now undergoing extensive clinical investigation. This review discusses recen...

Toll receptors are evolutionary ancient families of pattern recognition receptors with crucial roles in invertebrate innate immune response. In this study, we identified a Toll receptor (MrToll) from giant freshwater prawns (Macrobrachium rosenbergii). The full-length cDNA of MrToll is 4257 bp, which encodes a putative protein of 1367 amino acids. MrToll contains 17 LRR domains, a transmembrane domain, and a TIR domain. Phylogenetic analysis showed that MrToll was grouped with Drosophila Toll7 and other arthropod Tolls. The transcripts of MrToll are mainly distributed in the heart, hepatopancreas, gills, stomach, and intestine. A low level of MrToll expression can be detected in hemocytes and the lymphoid organ. MrToll expression in gills was gradually upregulated to the highest level from 24 h to 48 h during the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) challenge. The expression levels of the crustin (Cru) genes Cru3 and Cru7 in gills were relatively lower than those of Cru2 and Cru4. The expression levels of Cru3 and Cru7 were inhibited after the RNA interference of MrToll in gills during the WSSV challenge. The anti-lipopolysaccharide factor (ALF) genes ALF2, ALF3, ALF4, and ALF5 were also regulated by MrToll in gills during the virus challenge. These findings suggest that MrToll may contribute to the innate immune defense of M. rosenbergii against WSSV.

Full Text Available Defensive systems against pathogens are responsible not only for survival or lifetime of an individual but also for the evolution of a species. Innate immunity is expected to be more important for invertebrates than mammals, given that adaptive immunity has not been acquired in the former. Toll-like receptors (TLRs have been shown to play a crucial role in host defense of pathogenic microbes in innate immunity of mammals. Recent genome-wide analyses have suggested that TLR or their related genes are conserved in invertebrates. In particular, numerous TLR-related gene candidates were detected in deuterostome invertebrates including a sea urchin (222 TLR-related gene candidates and amphioxus (72 TLR-related gene candidates. Molecular phylogenetic analysis verified that most of sea urchin or amphioxus TLR candidates are paralogous, suggesting that these organisms expanded TLR-related genes in a species-specific manner. In contrast, another deuterostome invertebrate, an ascidian, Ciona intestinalis, was found to possess only two TLR genes. Moreover, Ciona TLRs, Ci-TLR1 and -2, were shown to possess hybrid functionality of mammalian TLRs. Such functionality of Ci-TLRs could not be predicted by sequence comparison with vertebrate TLRs, indicating the confounding evolutionary lineages of deuterostome invertebrate TLRs or their candidates. In this review article, we present recent advances in studies of TLRs or their candidates of deuterostome invertebrates, and provide insight into an evolutionary process of TLRs.

Full Text Available Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men after lung cancer. Immune responses clearly play a critical role in the tumorigenesis and in the efficacy of radiation therapy and chemotherapy in prostate cancer; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms are still poorly understood. Toll-like receptors (TLRs are a well-known family of pattern recognition receptors that play a key role in host immune system. Recent studies demonstrate that there are links between TLRs and cancer; however, the function and biological importance of TLRs in prostate cancer seems complex. To elucidate the role of TLRs and innate immunity in prostate cancer might provide us with a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of this disease. Moreover, utilizing the agonists or antagonists of TLRs might represent a promising new strategy against prostate cancer. In this review, we summarize recent advances on the studies of association between TLR signaling and prostate cancer, TLR polymorphisms and prostate cancer risk, and provide some insights about TLRs as potential targets for prostate cancer immunotherapy.

Full Text Available Taking into account the role of mast cells in different physiological and pathological processes, as well as in host defense it seems very important to recognize mast cell receptors and their role in activation of these cells. In the last few years it has been indicated that mast cells can express Toll-like receptors (TLRs, molecules that play an essential role in the activation of innate immune response to microbial pathogens and take part in the development of adaptive immunity, as well. It has been defined that mast cells express TLR2, TLR4, TLR1 and TLR6. There is also some data proving that mast cells possess TLR5, TLR3 and TLR9 molecules. The presence of TLR7, TLR9, and TLR10 on mast cells is still unclear. Some data indicate that TLR expression by mast cells can be modulated by various cytokines, such as granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF and interferon (IFN-γ, cathelicidin LL-37 as well as by some bacterial components. It is now established that TLRs are involved in mast cell response to bacterial stimulation; some data also indicate that TLRs take part in virus-induced mast cell activation. What is more, it is now suggested that TLRs might regulate IgE-FcεRI-dependent mast cell stimulation. Further research is needed to fully understand and describe the role of TLRs in mast cell biology.

Full Text Available Toll like receptors (TLR are receptors with major role in activationof immune system by regulating production of chemokinesand cytokines, which makes them important in different types ofinflammatory reactions- bacterial, viral, parasitic, acute, chronicetc. Having in mind that atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatorydisease, it is clear then that TLRs are a group of immune systemactivators, producing specific immune cells. In human atheroscleroticplaque there is a markedly enhanced expression of TLR1,TLR2, and TLR4. TLRs are expressed in adrenal cells, and TLRagonists stimulate the release of steroids from human adrenalgland, as well. TLR2 deficient mice have an impaired steroid releaseduring endotoxemia. TLR9 stimulation leads to a corticosteroneand inflammatory cytokine response. The best characterizedof all is TLR4. Up to date this TLR has a major role in thedevelopment of atherosclerosis. Enhanced expression of hTLR4(human TLR4 in patients with ACS (acute coronary syndromewas associated with elevations of IL-12 and B7-1 expression, astypical downstream effects of TLR4 activation. It is known that acertain gene polymorphism of TLR4 can slow progression of thedisease. Over expression of TLR2 in mice facilitates ventricularremodeling after myocardial infarction. The CAPS study foundcontrary results, when in 3000 patients no connection had beenfound between TLR2 polymorphism (Arg 753 Gln,-16934A/Tand TLR4 polymorphism (D299G, T399I and the process of atherosclerosis.

Toll receptors are cell surface molecules acting as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that have been implicated in the signaling pathway of innate immune responses. In this study, the full-length cDNA of a Toll receptor gene of Macrobrachium rosenbergii, designated MrToll, was successfully isolated using designed degenerate primers and the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The MrToll gene sequence contained an open reading frame (ORF) of 2799 nucleotides encoding a protein of 932 amino acid residues. The protein contained distinct structural motifs of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family, including an extracellular domain containing 15 leucine-rich repeats (LRRs), a transmembrane segment of 23 amino acids, and a cytoplasmic Toll/interleukin-1R (TIR) domain of 139 residues. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that MrToll and Toll receptor of Marsupenaeus japonicus (MjToll) evolved closely. However, the MrToll ORF demonstrated only 48-49% identity with shrimp Toll1, suggesting that MrToll isolated from a palaemonid shrimp might belong to a novel class of Toll receptors in shrimp. The transcripts of the MrToll gene were constitutively expressed in various tissues, with high levels in hemocytes, the stomach and muscle. A reverse transcriptase PCR assay demonstrated that the expression patterns of MrToll were distinctly modulated after Aeromonas caviae stimulation, with significant enhancement at 3-12 h post-challenge and a decline to basal levels at 24 h post-challenge. In addition, when MrToll-silenced shrimp were challenged with A. caviae, there was a significant increase in mortality and bacterial CFU counts. These results suggest that MrToll might be involved in host innate defense, especially against the pathogen A. caviae.

Full Text Available 16446382 All is not Toll: new pathways in DNA recognition. Wagner H, Bauer S. J Exp... Med. 2006 Feb 20;203(2):265-8. Epub 2006 Jan 30. (.png) (.svg) (.html) (.csml) Show All is not Toll: new pa...thways in DNA recognition. PubmedID 16446382 Title All is not Toll: new pathways in DNA recognition. Authors

Full Text Available 17959357 Toll like receptors and autoimmunity: a critical appraisal. Papadimitraki ...ml) Show Toll like receptors and autoimmunity: a critical appraisal. PubmedID 17959357 Title Toll like recep...tors and autoimmunity: a critical appraisal. Authors Papadimitraki ED, Bertsias G

The Toll signaling pathway functions in several Drosophila processes, including dorsal-ventral pattern formation and the immune response. Here, we demonstrate that this pathway is required in the epidermis for proper muscle development. Previously, we showed that the zygotic Toll protein is necessary for normal muscle development; in the absence of zygotic Toll, close to 50% of hemisegments have muscle patterning defects consisting of missing, duplicated and misinserted muscle fibers (Halfon, M.S., Hashimoto, C., and Keshishian, H., Dev. Biol. 169, 151-167, 1995). We have now also analyzed the requirements for easter, spatzle, tube, and pelle, all of which function in the Toll-mediated dorsal-ventral patterning pathway. We find that spatzle, tube, and pelle, but not easter, are necessary for muscle development. Mutations in these genes give a phenotype identical to that seen in Toll mutants, suggesting that elements of the same pathway used for Toll signaling in dorsal-ventral development are used during muscle development. By expressing the Toll cDNA under the control of distinct Toll enhancer elements in Toll mutant flies, we have examined the spatial requirements for Toll expression during muscle development. Expression of Toll in a subset of epidermal cells that includes the epidermal muscle attachment cells, but not Toll expression in the musculature, is necessary for proper muscle development. Our results suggest that signals received by the epidermis early during muscle development are an important part of the muscle patterning process.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are key initiators of the innate immune response and promote adaptive immunity. Much has been learned about the role of TLRs in human immunity from studies linking TLR genetic variation with disease. First, monogenic disorders associated with complete deficiency in certain

Naturally endemic infectious diseases provide selective pressures for pig populations. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) represent the first line of immune defense against pathogens and are likely to play a crucial adaptive role for pig populations. This study was done to determine whether wild and dome

To assess the impact of the genetic variation in toll-like receptors (TLRs) on outcome after allogeneic myeloablative conditioning hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), we investigated 29 single nucleotide polymorphisms across 10 TLRs in 816 patients and donors. Only donor genotype of TLR8 rs...

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the efficiency of different methods for improving the toll structure in a road network to achieve better socioeconomically results. By comparing a system using a marginal priced approach and a system using a metaheuristic approach it is investigated which ...

Recognition of microbial danger signals by toll-like receptors (TLR) causes re-programming of macrophages. To investigate kinase cascades triggered by the TLR4 ligand lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on systems level, we performed a global, quantitative and kinetic analysis of the phosphoproteome...

Full Text Available The goal of this paper is to analyse selected electronic toll systems that are currently used in Slovakia and Poland. In this paper we discuss imposed methods to charge infrastructure used in Slovakia and abroad. Further analysed are various electronic toll systems applied in chosen Central European country and Slovakia. All the electronic toll systems used in the Slovak Republic and Poland are successively analysed. The last section of this thesis focuses on the electronic toll system in Slovakia and its impact on road freight transport via comparison of fixed transport route costs using highway signs and electronic toll collection.

Full Text Available Toll and Toll-like receptors represent families of receptors involved in mediating innate immunity response in insects and mammals. Although Drosophila proteome contains multiple Toll paralogs, Toll-1 is, so far, the only receptor to which an immune role has been attributed. In contrast, every single mammalian TLR is a key membrane receptor upstream of the vertebrate immune signaling cascades. The prevailing view is that TLR-mediated immunity is ancient. Structural analysis reveals that Drosophila Toll-9 is the most closely related to vertebrate TLRs and utilizes similar signaling components as Toll-1. This suggests that Toll-9 could be an ancestor of TLR-like receptors and could have immune function. Consistently, it has been reported that over-expression of Toll-9 in immune tissues is sufficient to induce the expression of some antimicrobial peptides in flies. These results have led to the idea that Toll-9 could be a constitutively active receptor that maintain significant levels of antimicrobial molecules and therefore provide constant basal protection against micro-organisms. To test theses hypotheses, we generated and analyzed phenotypes associated with a complete loss-of-function allele of Toll-9. Our results suggest that Toll-9 is neither required to maintain a basal anti-microbial response nor to mount an efficient immune response to bacterial infection.

In studying congestion tolling, it is important to account for heterogeneity in preferences of drivers, as ignoring it can bias the welfare gains. We analyse the effects of tolling, in the bottleneck model, with continuous heterogeneity in the value of time and schedule delay. The welfare gain of a

Full Text Available On microbial invasion, the host immediately evokes innate immune responses. Recent studies have demonstrated that Toll-like receptors (TLRs play crucial roles in innate responses that lead not only to the clearance of pathogens but also to the efficient establishment of acquired immunity by directly detecting molecules from microbes. In terms of intracellular TLR-mediated signaling pathways, cytoplasmic adaptor molecules containing Toll/IL-1R (TIR domains play important roles in inflammatory immune responses through the production of proinflammatory cytokines, nitric oxide, and type I interferon, and upregulation of costimulatory molecules. In this paper, we will describe our current understanding of the relationship between TLRs and their ligands derived from pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Moreover, we will review the historical and current literature to describe the mechanisms behind TLR-mediated activation of innate immune responses.

Full Text Available Tolling system is a complex information and communication system that provides toll charging on highway sections. Traffic Management and Supervision System – TMSS enables the communication integration of all the elements of the system, data collection and data processing and generation of the set of reports, based on which it is possible to monitor the operation of the system both in on-line as well as in off-line regime and to control the realization of all the functions in the system. TMSS is developed on the modern technological platform which includes the Business Intelligence technology – BI and the Data Warehousing technology – DWH. The main goal of this paper is to show the usage and effects of the Business Intelligence technology in the TMSS development and exploitation.

Abstract Background In healing wounds, some monocytes enter the wound and differentiate into fibroblast-like cells called fibrocytes. Since Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are present on monocytes, and pathogens that can infect a wound have and/or release TLR agonists, we examined whether TLR agonists affect fibrocyte differentiation. Results When human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were cultured with TLR3, TLR4, TLR5, TLR7, TLR8 or TLR9 agonists, there was no significant effect on fi...

Full Text Available Aedes aegypti, the mosquito vector of dengue viruses, utilizes its innate immune system to ward off a variety of pathogens, some of which can cause disease in humans. To date, the features of insects' innate immune defenses against viruses have mainly been studied in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, which appears to utilize different immune pathways against different types of viruses, in addition to an RNA interference-based defense system. We have used the recently released whole-genome sequence of the Ae. aegypti mosquito, in combination with high-throughput gene expression and RNA interference (RNAi-based reverse genetic analyses, to characterize its response to dengue virus infection in different body compartments. We have further addressed the impact of the mosquito's endogenous microbial flora on virus infection. Our findings indicate a significant role for the Toll pathway in regulating resistance to dengue virus, as indicated by an infection-responsive regulation and functional assessment of several Toll pathway-associated genes. We have also shown that the mosquito's natural microbiota play a role in modulating the dengue virus infection, possibly through basal-level stimulation of the Toll immune pathway.

Full Text Available Among invertebrates, innate immunity is the only defense mechanism against harmful non-self agents.In response to recognition of microbial pattern molecules, Drosophila melanogaster activates either theToll or Imd pathway, leading to the translocation of NF-kB (or Rel transcription factors from the cytoplasmto the nucleus and the subsequent production of antimicrobial peptides, which provide systemic innateimmunity. Toll-like receptors (TLRs are characterized by an extracellular leucine rich repeat (LRRdomain and an intracellular Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR domain. TLRs are found from cnidarians tomammals. Here we argue that TLR mediated innate immunity developed during an early stage ofevolution when organisms acquired a body cavity. This is supported by the distributions of TLR and Relgenes in the animal kingdom. Further, TLR mediated immunity appears to have developed independentlyin invertebrates and vertebrates. Recent studies have shown that microbial molecules, with the potentialto signal through TLR, can be beneficial to host survival. Studies on this signaling pathway could opendoors to a better understanding of the origins of innate immunity in invertebrates and potentialtransmission blocking strategies aimed at ameliorating vector-borne diseases.

Based on the NaSch Model, a new three-line cellular automata model emphasizing toll station on the high ways is built to discuss the impact of different amount of toll stations on the traffic flow. The models are as follows: Firstly, the process of cars driving is simulated. Secondly, the process of pulling station is simulated. In this part, two Cellular Automata Models are built separately for two cases, three tollbooths in the toll station and four tollbooths. The result shows that when the density of cars is on medium level, comparing with the toll station with three tollbooths, the toll station with four tollbooths can remit the traffic congestion effectively, but when the density of cars is too high or too low, the toll station with three tollbooths can do better.

The establishment of dorsoventral (DV) axis in the Drosophila embryo relies on the Toll/Dorsal signaling pathway. The transcription factor Dorsal acts downstream of Toll forming a nuclear gradient that determines different cell fates along the DV axis. The formation of the DV axis has been studied in two other holometabolous insects, the bee- tle Tribolium and the wasp Nasonia. However, the role of Toll signaling has not been addressed in the more basally branching hemimetabolous insects. Her...

In this paper, a dynamic model of road traffic congestion is presented, with an elastic overall demand for morning peak road usage, and with the congestion technology used being 'flow congestion'. It is demonstrated that in such a case, the optimal time-varying toll should include a 'flat', time-invariant component when road users share the same desired arrival time. This has important consequences for the design of optimal toll schemes in reality, because it implies that optimal tolls cannot...

An improved model of energy consumption including toll station is presented in this paper. Using the model, we study the influences of mixed ratio, the idling energy consumption of vehicle, vehicle peak velocity, dwell time and random deceleration probability on energy consumption of Electronic Toll Collection or Manual Toll Collection mixed traffic flow on single lane under periodic condition. Simulating results indicate that the above five parameters are all increasing functions of total energy consumption, in which the idling energy consumption represents the major amounts with the increase of mixed ratio and occupancy rate. Thus, the existence of toll station has significant effect on the energy consumption of mixed traffic flow.

Full Text Available Electronic Toll Gate Station is the system which is implemented to automatically a more convenient way of collecting the toll and traffic management. There are millions of drivers passing through the toll gate station every day. Most of the toll collection systems commonly used in Myanmar is manual transaction. This paper describes a new method for toll collection system according to the weight of the vehicles. This electronic toll gate collection system has been fabricated based on microcontroller. The purpose of this work is to collect toll according to the weight of vehicle. There are three portions in toll collection system. They are the weight scales sub-system, Graphic User Interface (GUI in the host computer and the motor driving circuit for barricade control system. The authorized person at the toll gate can check the ID numbers, vehicle numbers, type of vehicle and the amount of balance via GUI on PC. The PIC microcontroller is also used to control the DC motor and display the weight on the LCD. For software implementation, visual basic programming language is used.

Toll-like receptors sense invading pathogens by recognizing a wide variety of conserved pathogen-associated molecular patterns(PAMPs).The members of the TLR family selectively utilize adaptor proteins MyD88,TRIF,TIRAP and TRAM to activate overlapping but distinct signal transduction pathways which trigger production of different panels of mediators such as proinflammatory cytokines and type I interferon.These mediators not only control innate immunity but also direct subsequently developed adaptive immunity.TLR activation is strictly and finely regulated at multiple levels of the signal transduction pathways.

With the prevalence and development of GNSS technologies, location-based vehicle services (LBVS) have experienced a rapid growth in recent years. However, location is a sensitive and private piece of information, so the design and development of such services just take the clients' privacy concerns into account. In this paper, we propose a new electronic toll pricing system based on group signatures, which provides a strong guarantee for the clients' anonymity within groups. Our system achieves a balance between privacy and the communication overhead imposed upon the users.

The Toll-like receptor (TLR) family regulates both innate and adaptive immune responses. Given its broad effect on immunity, the function of TLRs in various human diseases has been investigated largely by comparing the incidence of disease among persons with different polymorphisms in the genes that participate in TLR signaling. These studies demonstrate that TLR function affects several diseases, including sepsis, immunodeficiencies, atherosclerosis, and asthma. These findings have resulted in new opportunities to study the pathogenesis of disease, identify subpopulations at greater risk of disease, and, potentially, identify novel therapeutic approaches.

Signalling networks that control the life or death of a cell are of central interest in modern biology. While the defined roles of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway in regulating cell death have been well-established, additional factors that modulate JNK-mediated cell death have yet to be fully elucidated. To identify novel regulators of JNK-dependent cell death, we performed a dominant-modifier screen in Drosophila and found that the Toll pathway participates in JNK-mediated cell death. Loss of Toll signalling suppresses ectopically and physiologically activated JNK signalling-induced cell death. Our epistasis analysis suggests that the Toll pathway acts as a downstream modulator for JNK-dependent cell death. In addition, gain of JNK signalling results in Toll pathway activation, revealed by stimulated transcription of Drosomycin (Drs) and increased cytoplasm-to-nucleus translocation of Dorsal. Furthermore, the Spätzle (Spz) family ligands for the Toll receptor are transcriptionally upregulated by activated JNK signalling in a non-cell-autonomous manner, providing a molecular mechanism for JNK-induced Toll pathway activation. Finally, gain of Toll signalling exacerbates JNK-mediated cell death and promotes cell death independent of caspases. Thus, we have identified another important function for the evolutionarily conserved Toll pathway, in addition to its well-studied roles in embryonic dorso-ventral patterning and innate immunity. PMID:26202785

Full Text Available 16095970 Interferon gene regulation: not all roads lead to Tolls. Jefferies CA, Fit...zgerald KA. Trends Mol Med. 2005 Sep;11(9):403-11. (.png) (.svg) (.html) (.csml) Show Interferon gene regulation: not all road...s lead to Tolls. PubmedID 16095970 Title Interferon gene regulation: not all roads lead to

Full Text Available 17223961 Translational mini-review series on Toll-like receptors: recent advances inunderstanding the role...ecent advances inunderstanding the role of Toll-like receptors in anti-viral immu...nity. PubmedID 17223961 Title Translational mini-review series on Toll-like receptors: recent advances inunderstanding the role

Parking-toll on main-line is one of toll models on high-level ways in our country at present. This paper analyzes the flow' s distributing function, queuing model, and vehicle passing time. Through computer simulation, the negative index relationships between carrying capacity and serving time, and the index relationships between the queuing delay and flow are gained under the condition of different serving time and different vehicle type composition. When the flow density is low, the vehicle type composing has less influence on system serving level. Contrarily, also. Disposing toll station by roadway where flow density is high, we can save transection areas of toll station, reduce system queuing delay time, and enhance carrying capacity of toll station.

A cDNA encoding a serine proteinase homologue of kuruma shrimp (Marsupenaeus japonicus) was cloned. The 1257 bp cDNA encodes a 339 amino acid putative peptide, with a signal sequence of 16 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence is 42-67% similar to the immune-related serine proteinases and serine proteinase homologues of arthropods. It contains catalytic triad residues in the putative catalytic domain except for one substitution of Ser by a Gly residue. The six cysteine residues that form three disulphide bridges in most serine proteinases were conserved. The M. japonicus serine proteinase homologue was mainly expressed in haemocytes, in which expression dramatically increased after 3 days feeding with peptidoglycan at 0.2 mg kg(-1) shrimp body weight per day.

Bacterium-induced diarrhea results in 2 to 2.5 million deaths in the world each year. The mechanism needs to be further understood. Staphylococcus aureus infection has a close relation with diarrhea; its cell wall component peptidoglycan (PGN) has strong biological activity on immune cells and possibly plays a role in S. aureus-induced diarrhea. The present study showed that oral PGN-induced diarrhea in mice in a dose-dependent manner. Intestinal epithelial cells absorbed PGN via the intracel...

Full Text Available Toll-like receptors (TLR are key players of the innate and adaptive immune response in vertebrates. The original protein Toll in Drosophila melanogaster regulates both host defense and morphogenesis during development. Making use of real-time PCR, in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemistry we systematically examined the expression of TLR1-9 and the intracellular adaptor molecules MyD88 and TRIF during development of the mouse brain. Expression of TLR7 and TLR9 in the brain was strongly regulated during different embryonic, postnatal, and adult stages. In contrast, expression of TLR1-6, TLR8, MyD88, and TRIF mRNA displayed no significant changes in the different phases of brain development. Neurons of various brain regions including the neocortex and the hippocampus were identified as the main cell type expressing both TLR7 and TLR9 in the developing brain. Taken together, our data reveal specific expression patterns of distinct TLRs in the developing mouse brain and lay the foundation for further investigation of the pathophysiological significance of these receptors for developmental processes in the central nervous system of vertebrates.

... Internal Revenue Service Open Meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Toll-Free Phone Line Project Committee... the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Toll-Free Phone Line Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer...) that an open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Toll-Free Phone Line Project Committee will be...

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... Internal Revenue Service Open Meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Toll-Free Phone Line Project Committee... the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Toll-Free Phone Line Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer... open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Toll-Free Phone Line Project Committee will be held...

... Internal Revenue Service Open Meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Toll-Free Phone Line Project Committee... the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Toll-Free Phone Line Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer... open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Toll-Free Phone Line Project Committee will be held...

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Full Text Available 15476921 The role of Toll-like receptors and Nod proteins in bacterial infection. P...hilpott DJ, Girardin SE. Mol Immunol. 2004 Nov;41(11):1099-108. (.png) (.svg) (.html) (.csml) Show The role ...of Toll-like receptors and Nod proteins in bacterial infection. PubmedID 15476921 Title The role of Toll-lik

Fatality tolls caused by the disastrous earthquake are the one of the most important items among the earthquake damage and losses. If we can precisely estimate the potential tolls and distribution of fatality in individual districts as soon as the earthquake occurrences, it not only make emergency programs and disaster management more effective but also supply critical information to plan and manage the disaster and the allotments of disaster rescue manpower and medicine resources in a timely manner. In this study, we intend to reach the estimation of death tolls caused by the Chi-Chi earthquake in individual districts based on the Attributive Database of Victims, population data, digital maps and Geographic Information Systems. In general, there were involved many factors including the characteristics of ground motions, geological conditions, types and usage habits of buildings, distribution of population and social-economic situations etc., all are related to the damage and losses induced by the disastrous earthquake. The density of seismic stations in Taiwan is the greatest in the world at present. In the meantime, it is easy to get complete seismic data by earthquake rapid-reporting systems from the Central Weather Bureau: mostly within about a minute or less after the earthquake happened. Therefore, it becomes possible to estimate death tolls caused by the earthquake in Taiwan based on the preliminary information. Firstly, we form the arithmetic mean of the three components of the Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) to give the PGA Index for each individual seismic station, according to the mainshock data of the Chi-Chi earthquake. To supply the distribution of Iso-seismic Intensity Contours in any districts and resolve the problems for which there are no seismic station within partial districts through the PGA Index and geographical coordinates in individual seismic station, the Kriging Interpolation Method and the GIS software, The population density depends on

The Toll and immune deficiency (IMD) pathways are essential for inducing immune related genes during invasion of pathogens. In the present study, transcripts of eight pathway-related genes in Litopenaeus vannamei, including Toll, IMD, Pelle, IAP1, TRAF6, ALF, Crustin and Penaeidin3 were analyzed to further understand the potential relationship between Toll and IMD pathway. The high transcription levels of TRAF6, Pelle, Toll, IMD and IAP1 in selected tissues indicates their functional roles in Toll and IMD pathways. The increased mRNA expression of Toll and IMD detected in the early stage might suggest the inducible role of Toll and IMD upon bacterial infection. Moreover, the continuous increase of IMD and the high level of Pelle and TRAF6 in Vibrio anguillarum challenged group indicated that Gram-negative bacterium can activate both the Toll and IMD signaling pathway. Silencing of Toll by a dsRNA-mediated RNAi strongly increased the transcripts of IMD, Pelle, TRAF6, IAP1 and Akirin, knocking down of IMD also markedly increased the transcripts of Toll, Pelle, IAP1 and Akirin. Furthermore, ALF expression was significantly increased in response to V. anguillarum and Micrococcus lysodeikticus challenge, while the transcripts of Crustin and Pen3 in hemocytes were significantly reduced in V. anguillarum group, but rose significantly following M. lysodeikticus infection. In summary, we speculate that Toll and IMD pathway are not independent in shrimp, but linked to defense against bacterial infection.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Toll-like receptors enable the host to recognize a large number of pathogen-associated molecular patterns such as bacterial lipopolysaccharide, viral RNA, CpG-containing DNA and flagellin. Toll-like receptors have also been shown to play a pivotal role in both innate and adaptive immune responses. The role of Toll-like receptors as a primary part of our microbe defense system has been shown in several studies, but their possible function as mediators in allergy and asthma remains to be established. The present study was designed to examine the expression of Toll-like receptors 2, 3 and 4 in the nasal mucosa of patients with intermittent allergic rhinitis, focusing on changes induced by exposure to pollen. Methods 27 healthy controls and 42 patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis volunteered for the study. Nasal biopsies were obtained before and during pollen season as well as before and after allergen challenge. The seasonal material was used for mRNA quantification of Toll-like receptors 2, 3 and 4 with real-time polymerase chain reaction, whereas specimens achieved in conjunction with allergen challenge were used for immunohistochemical localization and quantification of corresponding proteins. Results mRNA and protein representing Toll-like receptors 2, 3 and 4 could be demonstrated in all specimens. An increase in protein expression for all three receptors could be seen following allergen challenge, whereas a significant increase of mRNA only could be obtained for Toll-like receptor 3 during pollen season. Conclusion The up-regulation of Toll-like receptors 2, 3 and 4 in the nasal mucosa of patients with symptomatic allergic rhinitis supports the idea of a role for Toll-like receptors in allergic airway inflammation.

Congestion pricing is an important component of urban intelligent transport system. The efficiency, equity and the environmental impacts associated with road pricing schemes are key issues that should be considered before such schemes are implemented. This paper focuses on the cordon-based pricing with distance tolls, where the tolls are determined by a nonlinear function of a vehicles’ travel distance within a cordon, termed as toll charge function. The optimal tolls can give rise to:1) higher total social benefits, 2) better levels of equity, and 3) reduced environmental impacts (e.g., less emission). Firstly, a deterministic equilibrium (DUE) model with elastic demand is presented to evaluate any given toll charge function. The distance tolls are non-additive, thus a modified path-based gradient projection algorithm is developed to solve the DUE model. Then, to quantitatively measure the equity level of each toll charge function, the Gini coefficient is adopted to measure the equity level of the flows in the entire transport network based on equilibrium flows. The total emission level is used to reflect the impacts of distance tolls on the environment. With these two indexes/measurements for the efficiency, equity and environmental issues as well as the DUE model, a multi-objective bi-level programming model is then developed to determine optimal distance tolls. The multi-objective model is converted to a single level model using the goal programming. A genetic algorithm (GA) is adopted to determine solutions. Finally, a numerical example is presented to verify the methodology.

Full Text Available Atherosclerosis is a disease characterized by inflammation in the arterial wall. Atherogenesis is dependent on the innate immune response involving activation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs and the expression of inflammatory proteins. TLRs, which recognize various pathogen-associated molecular patterns, are expressed in various cell types within the atherosclerotic plaque. Microbial agents are associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis and this is, in part, due to activation of TLRs. Recently considerable evidence has been provided suggesting that endogenous proteins promote atherosclerosis by binding to TLRs. In this review, we describe the role of TLRs in atherosclerosis with particular emphasis on those atherogenic endogenous proteins that have been implicated as TLR ligands.

Full Text Available Fungi are increasingly recognized as major pathogens in immunocompromised individuals. The most common invasive fungal infections are caused by Candida spp., Aspergillus spp. and Cryptococcus spp. Amphotericin B has remained the cornerstone of therapy against many fulminant fungal infections but its use is limited by its multitude of side effects. Echinocandins are a newer class of antifungal drugs with activity against Candida spp. and Aspergillus spp. and constitutes an alternative to amphotericin B due to superior patient tolerability and fewer side effects. Due to their excellent bioavailability and oral availability, azoles continue to be heavily used for simple, such as fluconazole for candidal vaginitis, and complex diseases, such as voriconazole for aspergilloisis. The objective of this paper is to present current knowledge regarding the multiple interactions between the broad spectrum antifungals and the innate immune response, primarily focusing on the toll-like receptors.

Background: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are pattern recognition receptors that act as a first-line of defence in the innate immune response by recognising and responding to conserved molecular patterns in microbial factors and endogenous danger signals. Cystic fibrosis (CF)-affected airways represent a milieu potentially rich in TLR agonists and the chronic inflammatory phenotype evident in CF airway epithelial cells is probably due in large part to activation of TLRs. Objective\\/methods: To examine the prospects of developing novel therapies for CF by targeting TLRs. We outline the expression and function of TLRs and explore the therapeutic potential of naturally-occurring and synthetic TLR inhibitors for CF. Results\\/conclusion: Modulation of TLRs has therapeutic potential for the inflammatory lung manifestations of CF.

Full Text Available The biologically active components of cannabis have therapeutic potential in neuroinflammatory disorders due to their anti-inflammatory propensity. Cannabinoids influence immune function in both the peripheral and the central nervous system (CNS, and the components of the cannabinoid system, the cannabinoid receptors and their endogenous ligands (endocannabinoids, have been detected on immune cells as well as in brain glia. Neuroinflammation is the complex innate immune response of neural tissue to control infection and eliminate pathogens, and Toll-like receptors (TLRs, a major family of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs that mediate innate immunity, have emerged as players in the neuroinflammatory processes underpinning various CNS diseases. This review will highlight evidence that cannabinoids interact with the immune system by impacting TLR-mediated signaling events, which may provide cues for devising novel therapeutic approaches for cannabinoid ligands.

Since the identification of the first Toll-like receptor (TLR) in humans in 1997, understanding of the molecular basis for innate immunity has increased significantly. The TLR family and downstream signalling pathways have been extensively characterised, There is now significant evidence suggesting a role for TLRs in human inflammatory and immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, allergy\\/asthma and atherosclerosis. Various approaches have been taken to identify novel therapeutic agents targeting TLRs including biologics, small molecules and nucleic acid-based drugs. Several are now being evaluated in the clinic and showing promise against various diseases. This review paper outlines the recent advances in the understanding of TLR biology and highlights novel TLR agonists and antagonists in development for the treatment of immune diseases.

Full Text Available Toll-like receptor (TLR proteins play key roles in immune responses against infection. Using TLR proteins, host can recognize the conserved molecular structures found in pathogens called pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs. At the same time, some TLRs are able to detect specific host molecules, such as high-mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1 and heat shock proteins (hsp, and lead to inflammatory responses. Thus, it has been suggested that TLRs are involved in the development of many pathogenic conditions. Recent advances in TLR-related research not only provide us with scientific information, but also show the therapeutic potential against diseases, such as autoimmune disease and cancer. In this mini review, we demonstrate how TLRs pathways could be involved in cancer development and their therapeutic application, and discuss recent patentable subjects, in particular, that are targeting this unique pathway.

Full Text Available Toll-like receptors (TLRs are important innate immune receptors for the identification and clearance of invading pathogens. Twelve TLRs that recognize various conserved components of microorganisms are currently known. Among these, the endosomal TLRs 3, 7/8, and 9 recognize dsRNA, ssRNA, and CpG DNA, respectively. Nucleic acid-sensing TLRs, TLR 7 in particular, have been implicated in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE and are thought to exacerbate disease pathology. Activation of these TLRs results in the production of inflammatory cytokines and type I interferon. Genome-wide association studies, single nucleotide polymorphism analyses as well as experimental mouse models have provided evidence of TLR signaling involvement in SLE and other autoimmune diseases. Since activation of these receptor pathways promotes autoimmune phenotypes, inhibitory drugs that target these pathways constitute important new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of systemic autoimmunity.

Full Text Available Protozoa of the genus Leishmania cause a wide variety of pathologies ranging from self-healing skin lesions to visceral damage, depending on the parasite species. The outcome of infection depends on the quality of the adaptive immune response, which is determined by parasite factors and the host genetic background. Innate responses, resulting in the generation of mediators with anti-leishmanial activity, contribute to parasite control and help the development of efficient adaptive responses. Among those, the potential contribution of members of the Toll-like receptors (TLRs family in the control of Leishmania infections started to be investigated about a decade ago. Although most studies appoint a protective role for TLRs, there is growing evidence that in some cases, TLRs facilitate infection. This review highlights recent advances in TLR function during Leishmania infections and discusses their potential role in restraining parasite growth versus yielding disease.

Human neutrophils were found to express all known Toll-like receptors (TLRs) except TLR3 and TLR7. IRAK-4-deficient neutrophils were tested for their responsiveness to various TLR ligands. Essentially all TLR responses in neutrophils, including the induction of reactive oxygen species generation, adhesion, chemotaxis and IL-8 secretion, were found to be dependent on IRAK-4. Surprisingly, the reactivity towards certain established TLR ligands, imiquimod and ODN-CpG, was unaffected by IRAK-4 deficiency, demonstrating their activity is independent of TLR. TLR-4-dependent signaling in neutrophils was totally dependent on IRAK-4 without any major TRIF-mediated contribution. We did not observe any defects in killing capacity of IRAK-4-deficient neutrophils for Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans, suggesting that microbial killing is primarily TLR independent.

Full Text Available Protein kinase C (PKC is a family of kinases that are implicated in a plethora of diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. PKC isoforms can have different, and sometimes opposing, effects in these disease states. Toll-like receptors (TLRs are a family of pattern recognition receptors that bind pathogens and stimulate the secretion of cytokines. It has long been known that PKC inhibitors reduce LPS-stimulated cytokine secretion by macrophages, linking PKC activation to TLR signaling. Recent studies have shown that PKC-α, -δ, -ε, and -ζ are directly involved in multiple steps in TLR pathways. They associate with the TLR or proximal components of the receptor complex. These isoforms are also involved in the downstream activation of MAPK, RhoA, TAK1, and NF-κB. Thus, PKC activation is intimately involved in TLR signaling and the innate immune response.

Open road tolling (ORT) design has been considered as an effective means of smoothing highway traffic and reducing travel delay on toll highways. In this paper it is demonstrated that ORT can also achieve significant air quality benefits over the conventional toll plaza design. The near roadside carbon monoxide (CO) concentration levels can be reduced by up to 37%, and diesel particulate matter (DPM) emissions can decrease by as much as 58%. These large expected air quality benefits have great implications to the regional efforts of reducing mobile source air pollution toward achieving attainment status and healthier living environment.

proliferation, would also be key factors in regulating and enhancing cancer progression. The TLR pathways, which play a critical role in tissue repair, are also key regulators in cancer progression as well as chemoresistance. TLRs serve as cell surface sensors that can initiate pathways leading to proliferation...... and chemoresistance; as well as mediators that are able to regulate the infiltrating immune cells to provide further support for cancer progression.......Cancer could be deemed as an abnormal and uncontrolled tissue repair process. Therefore, it would not be surprising that factors that function in the tissue repair process, such as cytokines, chemokines, growth factors and Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands, as well as growth signals for compensatory...

This chapter details the tools that are available to study Toll-like receptor (TLR) biology in vitro. This includes ligands, host cells, and readouts. The use of modified TLRs to circumvent some technical problems is also discussed.

CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) represent a kind of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) as well as a novel adjuvant that activate the innate immune system through interaction with Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) in mammals. In the present study, the synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides, CpG ODN 2395, was employed to investigate the interactive mode of CpG ODNs with three known Tolls (LvToll1-3) from shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. The mature peptides of extracellular domains of LvTolls (LvToll-ECDs) were recombinant expressed and their binding activities to CpG ODN 2395 were further examined by ELISA. rLvToll1-ECD and rLvToll3-ECD exhibited affinity to CpG ODN 2395 in a dose-dependent manner when their concentrations ranged from 0.25 to 2.00 μmol/L, while rLvToll2-ECD did not show any binding activities to CpG ODN 2395 in tested concentrations. Additionally, after the stimulation of CpG ODN 2395, the luciferase activities of HEK293T cells transfected with LvToll1-mosaic or LvToll3-mosaic were significantly increased to 2.38-fold (pvannamei were indispensable for the triggering of immune responses by CpG ODNs, and the results provided a foundation for the application of CpG ODNs as the novel immunostimulants in aquaculture.

Full Text Available Consumer satisfaction should be provided by organization. The Government service in the form of e-toll green technology is an alternative service in toll road for public. This service is still new in the implementation. Therefore, it is necessary to do a study in the level of elasticity of the e-toll service. Consumer satisfaction from toll users becomes a measure of the success rate from this service. Consumer satisfaction from toll users who use e-toll will be achieved if they are satisfied with the e-toll product and GTO service. This study aims to test a model that explains consumer satisfaction from e-toll users. The theory underlying this study was service quality and satisfaction. The study was conducted on the toll roads in Jakarta. Unit analysis was e-toll users. Samples were taken based on convenient sampling. Structural Equation Modelling used SPSS 16.0 software and elasticity formula was used to test the hypothesis; while the implication for transport domain

AbstractThis work investigates the congestion and traffic flow in a tool plaza, and proposes a methodology for the classification of highway flows and its service levels based on a combination of the Highway Capacity Manual – HCM and Discrete Events Simulation fundaments. The proposed mesoscopic simulation is used to analyze service levels of different physical and operational arrangements of a particular toll gate. The model considers speed functions, toll gate arrivals and departures,...

In order to build a combined model which can meet the variation rule of death toll data for road traffic accidents and can reflect the influence of multiple factors on traffic accidents and improve prediction accuracy for accidents, the Verhulst model was built based on the number of death tolls for road traffic accidents in China from 2002 to 2011; and car ownership, population, GDP, highway freight volume, highway passenger transportation volume, and highway mileage were chosen as the factors to build the death toll multivariate linear regression model. Then the two models were combined to be a combined prediction model which has weight coefficient. Shapley value method was applied to calculate the weight coefficient by assessing contributions. Finally, the combined model was used to recalculate the number of death tolls from 2002 to 2011, and the combined model was compared with the Verhulst and multivariate linear regression models. The results showed that the new model could not only characterize the death toll data characteristics but also quantify the degree of influence to the death toll by each influencing factor and had high accuracy as well as strong practicability. PMID:25610454

The pathogenicity of Candida glabrata to patients remains poorly understood for lack of convenient animal models to screen large numbers of mutants for altered virulence. In this study, we explore the minihost model Drosophila melanogaster from the dual perspective of host and pathogen. As in vertebrates, wild-type flies contain C. glabrata systemic infections yet are unable to kill the injected yeasts. As for other fungal infections in Drosophila, the Toll pathway restrains C. glabrata proliferation. Persistent C. glabrata yeasts in wild-type flies do not appear to be able to take shelter in hemocytes from the action of the Toll pathway, the effectors of which remain to be identified. Toll pathway mutant flies succumb to injected C. glabrata. In this immunosuppressed background, cellular defenses provide a residual level of protection. Although both the Gram-negative binding protein 3 pattern recognition receptor and the Persephone protease-dependent detection pathway are required for Toll pathway activation by C. glabrata, only GNBP3, and not psh mutants, are susceptible to the infection. Both Candida albicans and C. glabrata are restrained by the Toll pathway, yet the comparative study of phenoloxidase activation reveals a differential activity of the Toll pathway against these two fungal pathogens. Finally, we establish that the high-osmolarity glycerol pathway and yapsins are required for virulence of C. glabrata in this model. Unexpectedly, yapsins do not appear to be required to counteract the cellular immune response but are needed for the colonization of the wild-type host.

Full Text Available In order to build a combined model which can meet the variation rule of death toll data for road traffic accidents and can reflect the influence of multiple factors on traffic accidents and improve prediction accuracy for accidents, the Verhulst model was built based on the number of death tolls for road traffic accidents in China from 2002 to 2011; and car ownership, population, GDP, highway freight volume, highway passenger transportation volume, and highway mileage were chosen as the factors to build the death toll multivariate linear regression model. Then the two models were combined to be a combined prediction model which has weight coefficient. Shapley value method was applied to calculate the weight coefficient by assessing contributions. Finally, the combined model was used to recalculate the number of death tolls from 2002 to 2011, and the combined model was compared with the Verhulst and multivariate linear regression models. The results showed that the new model could not only characterize the death toll data characteristics but also quantify the degree of influence to the death toll by each influencing factor and had high accuracy as well as strong practicability.

Zebrafish model systems for infectious disease are increasingly used for the functional analysis of molecular pattern recognition processes. These studies benefit from the high conservation level of all innate immune factors in vertebrates. Zebrafish studies are strategically well positioned for this because of the ease of comparisons with studies in other fish species of which the immune system also has been intensively studied, but that are currently still less amendable to detailed genetic or microscopic studies. In this paper we focus on Toll-like receptor (TLR) signalling factors, which currently are the best characterized in mammalian systems. We review the knowledge on TLR signalling in the context of recent advances in zebrafish studies and discuss possibilities for future approaches that can complement studies in cell cultures and rodent models. A focus in these comparisons is the role of negative control mechanisms in immune responses that appear very important in a whole organism to keep adverse systemic responses in check. We also pay much attention to comparisons with studies in common carp that is highly related to zebrafish and that because of its large body mass can complement immune studies in zebrafish.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are novel and promising targets for allergen immunotherapy. Bench studies suggest that TLR agonists reduce Th2 responses and ameliorate airway hyper-responsiveness. In addition, clinical trials are at initial phases to evaluate the safety and efficacy of TLR agonists for the allergen immunotherapy of patients with allergic rhinitis and asthma. (Figure is included in full-text article.) To date, two allergy vaccine-containing TLR agonists have been investigated in clinical trials; Pollinex Quattro and AIC. The former contains monophosphoryl lipid, a TLR4 agonist and the latter contains, CpG motifs activating the TLR9 cascade. Preseasonal subcutaneous injection of both of these allergy vaccines has been safe and efficacious in control of nasal symptoms of patients with allergic rhinitis. CRX-675 (a TLR4 agonist), AZD8848 (a TLR7 agonist), VTX-1463 (a TLR8 agonist) and 1018 ISS and QbG10 (TLR9 agonists) are currently in clinical development for allergic rhinitis and asthma. TLR agonists herald promising results for allergen immunotherapy of patients with allergic rhinitis and asthma. Future research should be directed at utilizing these agents for immunotherapy of food allergy (for instance, peanut allergy) as well.

Full Text Available The immune system has acquired increasing importance as a key player in cancer maintenance and growth. Thus, modulating anti-tumor immune mediators has become an attractive strategy for cancer treatment. Toll-like receptors (TLRs have gradually emerged as potential targets of newer immunotherapies. TLR-9 is preferentially expressed on endosome membranes of B-cells and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC and is known for its ability to stimulate specific immune reactions through the activation of inflammation-like innate responses. Several synthetic CpG oligonucleotides (ODNs have been developed as TLR-9 agonists with the aim of enhancing cancer immune surveillance. In many preclinical models, CpG ODNs were found to suppress tumor growth and proliferation both in monotherapy and in addition to chemotherapies or target therapies. TLR-9 agonists have been also tested in several clinical trials in patients with solid tumors. These agents showed good tolerability and usually met activity endpoints in early phase trials. However, they have not yet been demonstrated to significantly impact survival, neither as single agent treatments, nor in combination with chemotherapies or cancer vaccines. Further investigations in larger prospective studies are required.

The immune system has acquired increasing importance as a key player in cancer maintenance and growth. Thus, modulating anti-tumor immune mediators has become an attractive strategy for cancer treatment. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have gradually emerged as potential targets of newer immunotherapies. TLR-9 is preferentially expressed on endosome membranes of B-cells and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) and is known for its ability to stimulate specific immune reactions through the activation of inflammation-like innate responses. Several synthetic CpG oligonucleotides (ODNs) have been developed as TLR-9 agonists with the aim of enhancing cancer immune surveillance. In many preclinical models, CpG ODNs were found to suppress tumor growth and proliferation both in monotherapy and in addition to chemotherapies or target therapies. TLR-9 agonists have been also tested in several clinical trials in patients with solid tumors. These agents showed good tolerability and usually met activity endpoints in early phase trials. However, they have not yet been demonstrated to significantly impact survival, neither as single agent treatments, nor in combination with chemotherapies or cancer vaccines. Further investigations in larger prospective studies are required.

Autoimmune diseases are a family of chronic systemic inflammatory disorders, characterized by the dysregulation of the immune system which finally results in the break of tolerance to self-antigen. Several studies suggest that Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play an essential role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. TLRs belong to the family of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that recognize a wide range of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). TLRs are type I transmembrane proteins and located on various cellular membranes. Two main groups have been classified based on their location; the extracelluar group referred to the ones located on the plasma membrane while the intracellular group all located in endosomal compartments responsible for the recognition of nucleic acids. They are released by the host cells and trigger various intracellular pathways which results in the production of proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, as well as the expression of co-stimulatory molecules to protect against invading microorganisms. In particular, TLR pathway-associated proteins, such as IRAK, TRAF, and SOCS, are often dysregulated in this group of diseases. TLR-associated gene expression profile analysis together with single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assessment could be important to explain the pathomechanism driving autoimmune diseases. In this review, we summarize recent findings on TLR pathway regulation in various autoimmune diseases, including Sjögren's syndrome (SS), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic sclerosis (SSc), and psoriasis.

Diabetic nephropathy is the leading cause of kidney failure and its increasing prevalence and incidence has imposed global socio-economic stress on healthcare systems worldwide. Although historically considered a metabolic disorder, recent studies have established that inflammatory responses are central to the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. TLRs (Toll-like receptors) are a family of pattern recognition receptors responsible for the initiation of inflammatory and immune responses. The regulation of TLR2 and TLR4 have been implicated in the pathogenesis of various kidney diseases, and emerging evidence shows their involvement in the perpetuation of inflammation in the diabetic kidney. The present review focuses on the relative contributions of TLR2 and TLR4 in recognizing endogenous ligands relevant to diabetic nephropathy and their subsequent activation of NF-κB (nuclear factor κB), which results in the synthesis and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Moreover, we discuss the pro-inflammatory signalling pathways of TLR2 and TLR4, in which their interruption or blockade may prove to be important therapeutic targets, potentially translated into clinical treatments for diabetic nephropathy. Currently, inhibitors to TLR2 and TLR4 are undergoing clinical trials in various inflammatory models of disease, but none in patients with diabetic nephropathy. Given the existing literature, there is a fundamental necessity to undertake trials in patients with diabetic nephropathy with a focus on renal end points.

Full Text Available The mechanism of innate immunity is based on the pattern recognition receptors (PRR that recognize molecular patterns associated with pathogens (PAMPs. Among PRR receptors Toll-like receptors (TLR are distinguished. As a result of contact with pathogens, TLRs activate specific intracellular signaling pathways. It happens through proteins such as adaptor molecules, e.g. MyD88, TIRAP, TRIF, TRAM, and IPS-1, which participate in the cascade activation of kinases (IKK, MAP, RIP-1, TBK-1 as well as transcription factors (NF-κB, AP-1 and regulatory factor (IRF3. The result of this activation is the production of active proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, interferons and enzymes. The PRR pathways are controlled by extra – and intracellular molecules to prevent overexpression of PRR. They include soluble receptors (sTLR, transmembrane proteins (ST2, SIGIRR, RP105, TRAIL-R and intracellular inhibitors (SOCS-1, SOCS-3, sMyD88, TOLLIP, IRAK-M, SARM, A20, β-arrestin, CYLD, SHP. These molecules maintain the balance between activation and inhibition and ensure balancing of the beneficial and adverse effects of antigen recognition.

The innate immune system detects highly conserved, relatively invariant structural motifs of pathogens. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have been identified as the primary innate immune receptors. TLRs distinguish between different patterns of pathogens and activate a rapid innate immune response; however, TLRs can also be activated by host-derived molecules. In addition to being expressed in immune cells, TLRs are expressed in other tissues, such as those of the cardiovascular system. TLRs could, therefore, be a key link between cardiovascular disease development and the immune system. Indeed, evidence that TLR activation contributes to the development and progression of atherosclerosis, cardiac dysfunction in sepsis, and congestive heart failure, is convincing. Although much has been learned about TLR activation in cellular components of the cardiovascular system, the role individual TLR family members have in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases and hence in clinical practice remains to be defined. Here we review the rapid progress that has been made in this field, which has improved our understanding of vascular as well as myocardial TLR function in basic and clinical science.

Full Text Available For many years, the innate immunity was of less interest than the adaptive immunity because it was perceived to have secondary importance in the functionality of the immune system. During the past decades, with the advancement of knowledge about innate immune system, interest in innate immunity has grown dramatically and thus its function has been extensively studied. Innate immunity plays fundamental roles in the initiation and induction of adaptive immune responses. It consists of several cells and receptors including natural killer (NK cells, macrophages (MQs, dendritic cells (DCs and pattern recognition receptors (PRRs. Two decades ago, Toll like receptors (TLRs family was known as one of the important PRRs with unique functions especially in protection against invading pathogens. Since the female reproductive tract has access to the outside environment and has a unique interaction with different pathogens whether invading microorganisms or normal flora, allogenic sperm and semi allogenic fetus, it has an essential need for effective immune responses. It has therefore been suggested that TLRs may play important roles in the immune regulation of the female reproductive tract. In addition, it has been demonstrated that immune disturbance may be responsible for some adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preeclampsia (PE, recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR. Our focus in this review is to show the importance of TLRs in pregnancy with emphasis on the expression of these receptors in different tissues related to pregnancy.

Full Text Available Consumer satisfaction should be provided by organization. The Government service in the form of etoll green technology is an alternative service in toll road for public. This service is still new in the implementation. Therefore, it is necessary to do a study in the level of elasticity of the e-toll service. Consumer satisfaction from toll users becomes a measure of the success rate from this service. Consumer satisfaction from toll users who use e-toll will be achieved if they are satisfied with the e-toll product and GTO service. This study aims to test a model that explains consumer satisfaction from e-toll users. The theory underlying this study was service quality and satisfaction. The study was conducted on the toll roads in Jakarta. Unit analysis was e-toll users. Samples were taken based on convenient sampling. Structural Equation Modelling used SPSS 16.0 software and elasticity formula was used to test the hypothesis; while the implication for transport domain.

Full Text Available The presence of an RNA virus in a South American subgenus of the Leishmania parasite, L. (Viannia, was detected several decades ago but its role in leishmanial virulence and metastasis was only recently described. In Leishmania guyanensis, the nucleic acid of Leishmania RNA virus (LRV1 acts as a potent innate immunogen, eliciting a hyper-inflammatory immune response through Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3. The resultant inflammatory cascade has been shown to increase disease severity, parasite persistence and perhaps even resistance to anti-leishmanial drugs. Curiously, LRVs were found mostly in clinical isolates prone to infectious metastasis in both their human source and experimental animal model, suggesting an association between the viral hyperpathogen and metastatic complications such as mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (MCL. MCL presents as chronic secondary lesions in the mucosa of the mouth and nose, debilitatingly inflamed and notoriously refractory to treatment. Immunologically, this outcome has many of the same hallmarks associated with the reaction to LRV: production of type 1 interferons, bias toward a chronic Th1 inflammatory state and an impaired ability of host cells to eliminate parasites through oxidative stress. More intriguing, is that the risk of developing MCL is found almost exclusively in infections of the L. (Viannia subtype, further indication that leishmanial metastasis is caused, at least in part, by a parasitic component. LRV present in this subgenus may contribute to the destructive inflammation of metastatic disease either by acting in concert with other intrinsic ‘metastatic factors’ or by independently preying on host TLR3 hypersensitivity. Because LRV amplifies parasite virulence, its presence may provide a unique target for diagnostic and clinical intervention of metastatic leishmaniasis. Taking examples from other members of the Totiviridae virus family, this paper reviews the benefits and costs of endosymbiosis

Motor vehicle crashes account for approximately one-half of all hospitalized patients with brain injury. Therefore, measures to reduce the frequency and severity of injuries from motor vehicle crashes have the potential for making a substantial impact on the incidence and severity of brain trauma. Occupant restraints, including seat belts and air bags, have been proven highly effective in preventing injuries, yet the specific benefits for the brain, the face, and the cervical spine provided by air bags have not been widely publicized. Air bags prevent the violent whiplash motion of the head in a frontal crash, resulting in a more controlled deceleration of the brain. Wrenching forces exerted on the cervical spine are attenuated, and the face is protected from contact with hard or lacerating surfaces. Furthermore, compliance is not a problem with air bags. When a car is equipped with air bags, they are in effect 100% of the time, which is important for the protection of high risk groups, such a teenage boys, who tend to wear seat belts less often than other groups. It is estimated from national data and from epidemiological studies that air bags could have prevented or reduced brain injury for 25% of the hospitalized, brain-injured population. If provided as standard equipment on both the driver and the passenger side, air bags could do more to reduce the toll of brain trauma than any other available intervention. Air bags were ready for introduction into the marketplace 15 years ago. Since then, approximately 150,000 preventable deaths and more than 1,500,000 preventable brain injuries have occurred.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Full Text Available Abstract Background Toll-like receptors (TLR and related downstream signaling pathways of innate immunity have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Because of their potential role in malaria pathogenesis, polymorphisms in these genes may be under selective pressure in populations where this infectious disease is endemic. Methods A post-PCR Ligation Detection Reaction-Fluorescent Microsphere Assay (LDR-FMA was developed to determine the frequencies of TLR2, TLR4, TLR9, MyD88-Adaptor Like Protein (MAL single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, and TLR2 length polymorphisms in 170 residents of two regions of Kenya where malaria transmission is stable and high (holoendemic or episodic and low, 346 residents of a malaria holoendemic region of Papua New Guinea, and 261 residents of North America of self-identified ethnicity. Results The difference in historical malaria exposure between the two Kenyan sites has significantly increased the frequency of malaria protective alleles glucose-6-phoshpate dehydrogenase (G6PD and Hemoglobin S (HbS in the holoendemic site compared to the episodic transmission site. However, this study detected no such difference in the TLR2, TLR4, TLR9, and MAL allele frequencies between the two study sites. All polymorphisms were in Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium in the Kenyan and Papua New Guinean populations. TLR9 SNPs and length polymorphisms within the TLR2 5' untranslated region were the only mutant alleles present at a frequency greater than 10% in all populations. Conclusion Similar frequencies of TLR2, TLR4, TLR9, and MAL genetic polymorphisms in populations with different histories of malaria exposure suggest that these innate immune pathways have not been under strong selective pressure by malaria. Genotype frequencies are consistent with Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium and the Neutral Theory, suggesting that genetic drift has influenced allele frequencies to a greater extent than selective

Full Text Available Altered cardiac Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9 signaling is important in several experimental cardiovascular disorders. These studies have predominantly focused on cardiac myocytes or the heart as a whole. Cardiac fibroblasts have recently been attributed increasing significance in mediating inflammatory signaling. However, putative TLR9-signaling through cardiac fibroblasts remains non-investigated. Thus, our aim was to explore TLR9-signaling in cardiac fibroblasts and investigate the consequence of such receptor activity on classical cardiac fibroblast cellular functions. Cultivated murine cardiac fibroblasts were stimulated with different TLR9 agonists (CpG A, B and C and assayed for the secretion of inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor α [TNFα], CXCL2 and interferon α/β. Expression of functional cardiac fibroblast TLR9 was proven as stimulation with CpG B and -C caused significant CXCL2 and TNFα-release. These responses were TLR9-specific as complete inhibition of receptor-stimulated responses was achieved by co-treatment with a TLR9-antagonist (ODN 2088 or chloroquine diphosphate. TLR9-stimulated responses were also found more potent in cardiac fibroblasts when compared with classical innate immune cells. Stimulation of cardiac fibroblasts TLR9 was also found to attenuate migration and proliferation, but did not influence myofibroblast differentiation in vitro. Finally, results from in vivo TLR9-stimulation with subsequent fractionation of specific cardiac cell-types (cardiac myocytes, CD45+ cells, CD31+ cells and cardiac fibroblast-enriched cell-fractions corroborated our in vitro data and provided evidence of differentiated cell-specific cardiac responses. Thus, we conclude that cardiac fibroblast may constitute a significant TLR9 responder cell within the myocardium and, further, that such receptor activity may impact important cardiac fibroblast cellular functions.

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Macrophages provide an interface between innate and adaptive immunity and are important long-lived reservoirs for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1 (HIV-1. Multiple genetic networks involved in regulating signal transduction cascades and immune responses in macrophages are coordinately modulated by HIV-1 infection. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To evaluate complex interrelated processes and to assemble an integrated view of activated signaling networks, a systems biology strategy was applied to genomic and proteomic responses by primary human macrophages over the course of HIV-1 infection. Macrophage responses, including cell cycle, calcium, apoptosis, mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK, and cytokines/chemokines, to HIV-1 were temporally regulated, in the absence of cell proliferation. In contrast, Toll-like receptor (TLR pathways remained unaltered by HIV-1, although TLRs 3, 4, 7, and 8 were expressed and responded to ligand stimulation in macrophages. HIV-1 failed to activate phosphorylation of IRAK-1 or IRF-3, modulate intracellular protein levels of Mx1, an interferon-stimulated gene, or stimulate secretion of TNF, IL-1beta, or IL-6. Activation of pathways other than TLR was inadequate to stimulate, via cross-talk mechanisms through molecular hubs, the production of proinflammatory cytokines typical of a TLR response. HIV-1 sensitized macrophage responses to TLR ligands, and the magnitude of viral priming was related to virus replication. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: HIV-1 induced a primed, proinflammatory state, M1(HIV, which increased the responsiveness of macrophages to TLR ligands. HIV-1 might passively evade pattern recognition, actively inhibit or suppress recognition and signaling, or require dynamic interactions between macrophages and other cells, such as lymphocytes or endothelial cells. HIV-1 evasion of TLR recognition and simultaneous priming of macrophages may represent a strategy for viral survival, contribute

Background The Toll-like receptors (TLRs) represent a group of single-pass transmembrane receptors expressed on sentinel cells that are central to innate immune responses.The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of soluble TLRs in pleural effusions, and the diagnostic values of TLRs for pleural effusion with various etiologies.Methods Pleural effusion and serum samples were collected from 102 patients (36 with malignant pleural effusion, 36with tuberculous pleural effusion, 18 with bacterial pleural effusion, and 12 with transudative pleural effusion).The concentrations of TLR1 to TLR10 were determined in effusion and serum samples by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.Four classical parameters (protein, lactate dehydrogenase, glucose and C-reactive protein (CRP)) in the pleural fluid were also assessed.Receiver-operating characteristic curves were used to assess the sensitivity and specificity of pleural fluid TLRs and biochemical parameters for differentiating bacterial pleural effusion.Results The concentrations of TLR1, TLR3, TLR4, TLR7 and TLR9 in bacterial pleural effusion were significantly higher than those in malignant, tuberculous, and transudative groups, respectively.Analysis of receiver operating characteristic curves revealed that the area under the curves of TLR1, TLR3, TLR4, TLR7 and TLR9 were 0.831, 0.843,0.842, 0.883 and 0.786, respectively, suggesting that these TLRs play a role in the diagnosis of bacterial pleural effusion.Also, the diagnostic value of TLRs for bacterial pleural effusions was much better than that of biochemical parameters (protein, lactate dehydrogenase, glucose and CRP).Conclusions The concentrations of TLR1, TLR3, TLR4, TLR7 and TLR9 appeared to be increased in bacterial pleural effusion compared to non-bacterial pleural effusions.Determination of these pleural TLRs may improve the ability of clinicians to differentiate pleural effusion patients of bacterial origin from those with other etiologies.

The objective of this study was to determine whether Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) has a role in alcohol-mediated acetaminophen (APAP) hepatotoxicity. TLR4 is involved in the inflammatory response to endotoxin. Others have found that ethanol-mediated liver disease is decreased in C3H/HeJ mice, which have a mutated TLR4 resulting in a decreased response to endotoxin compared with endotoxin-responsive mice. In the present study, short-term (1 wk) pretreatment with ethanol plus isopentanol, the predominant alcohols in alcoholic beverages, caused no histologically observed liver damage in either C3H/HeJ mice or endotoxin-responsive C3H/HeN mice, despite an increase in nitrotyrosine levels in the livers of C3H/HeN mice. In C3H/HeN mice pretreated with the alcohols, subsequent exposure to APAP caused a transient decrease in liver nitrotyrosine formation, possibly due to competitive interaction of peroxynitrite with APAP producing 3-nitroacetaminophen. Treatment with APAP alone resulted in steatosis in addition to congestion and necrosis in both C3H/HeN and C3H/HeJ mice, but the effects were more severe in endotoxin-responsive C3H/HeN mice. In alcohol-pretreated endotoxin-responsive C3H/HeN mice, subsequent exposure to APAP resulted in further increases in liver damage, including severe steatosis, associated with elevated plasma levels of TNF-alpha. In contrast, alcohol pretreatment of C3H/HeJ mice caused little to no increase in APAP hepatotoxicity and no increase in plasma TNF-alpha. Portal blood endotoxin levels were very low and were not detectably elevated by any of the treatments. In conclusion, this study implicates a role of TLR4 in APAP-mediated hepatotoxicity.

Deletion of the innate immune adaptor myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88) in the nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse model of type 1 diabetes (T1D) results in microbiota-dependent protection from the disease: MyD88-negative mice in germ-free (GF), but not in specific pathogen-free conditions develop the disease. These results could be explained by expansion of particular protective bacteria ("specific lineage hypothesis") or by dominance of negative (tolerizing) signaling over proinflammatory signaling ("balanced signal hypothesis") in mutant mice. Here we found that colonization of GF mice with a variety of intestinal bacteria was capable of reducing T1D in MyD88-negative (but not wild-type NOD mice), favoring the balanced signal hypothesis. However, the receptors and signaling pathways involved in prevention or facilitation of the disease remained unknown. The protective signals triggered by the microbiota were revealed by testing NOD mice lacking MyD88 in combination with knockouts of several critical components of innate immune sensing for development of T1D. Only MyD88- and TIR-domain containing adapter inducing IFN β (TRIF) double deficient NOD mice developed the disease. Thus, TRIF signaling (likely downstream of Toll-like receptor 4, TLR4) serves as one of the microbiota-induced tolerizing pathways. At the same time another TLR (TLR2) provided prodiabetic signaling by controlling the microbiota, as reduction in T1D incidence caused by TLR2 deletion was reversed in GF TLR2-negative mice. Our results support the balanced signal hypothesis, in which microbes provide signals that both promote and inhibit autoimmunity by signaling through different receptors, including receptors of the TLR family.

Full Text Available Various receptors on cell surface recognize specific extracellular molecules and trigger signal transduction altering gene expression in the nucleus. Gain or loss-of-function mutations of one molecule have shown to affect alternative signaling pathways with a poorly understood mechanism. In Toll-like receptor (TLR 4 signaling, which branches into MyD88- and TRAM-dependent pathways upon lipopolysaccharide (LPS stimulation, we investigated the gain or loss-of-function mutations of MyD88. We predict, using a computational model built on the perturbation-response approach and the law of mass conservation, that removal and addition of MyD88 in TLR4 activation, enhances and impairs, respectively, the alternative TRAM-dependent pathway through signaling flux redistribution (SFR at pathway branches. To verify SFR, we treated MyD88-deficient macrophages with LPS and observed enhancement of TRAM-dependent pathway based on increased IRF3 phosphorylation and induction of Cxcl10 and Ifit2. Furthermore, increasing the amount of MyD88 in cultured cells showed decreased TRAM binding to TLR4. Investigating another TLR4 pathway junction, from TRIF to TRAF6, RIP1 and TBK1, the removal of MyD88-dependent TRAF6 increased expression of TRAM-dependent Cxcl10 and Ifit2. Thus, we demonstrate that SFR is a novel mechanism for enhanced activation of alternative pathways when molecules at pathway junctions are removed. Our data suggest that SFR may enlighten hitherto unexplainable intracellular signaling alterations in genetic diseases where gain or loss-of-function mutations are observed.

Full Text Available Space travel presents unlimited opportunities for exploration and discovery, but requires better understanding of the biological consequences of long-term exposure to spaceflight. Immune function in particular is relevant for space travel. Human immune responses are weakened in space, with increased vulnerability to opportunistic infections and immune-related conditions. In addition, microorganisms can become more virulent in space, causing further challenges to health. To understand these issues better and to contribute to design of effective countermeasures, we used the Drosophila model of innate immunity to study immune responses in both hypergravity and spaceflight. Focusing on infections mediated through the conserved Toll and Imd signaling pathways, we found that hypergravity improves resistance to Toll-mediated fungal infections except in a known gravitaxis mutant of the yuri gagarin gene. These results led to the first spaceflight project on Drosophila immunity, in which flies that developed to adulthood in microgravity were assessed for immune responses by transcription profiling on return to Earth. Spaceflight alone altered transcription, producing activation of the heat shock stress system. Space flies subsequently infected by fungus failed to activate the Toll pathway. In contrast, bacterial infection produced normal activation of the Imd pathway. We speculate on possible linkage between functional Toll signaling and the heat shock chaperone system. Our major findings are that hypergravity and spaceflight have opposing effects, and that spaceflight produces stress-related transcriptional responses and results in a specific inability to mount a Toll-mediated infection response.

Cell number plasticity is coupled to circuitry in the nervous system, adjusting cell mass to functional requirements. In mammals, this is achieved by neurotrophin (NT) ligands, which promote cell survival via their Trk and p75NTR receptors and cell death via p75NTR and Sortilin. Drosophila NTs (DNTs) bind Toll receptors instead to promote neuronal survival, but whether they can also regulate cell death is unknown. In this study, we show that DNTs and Tolls can switch from promoting cell survival to death in the central nervous system (CNS) via a three-tier mechanism. First, DNT cleavage patterns result in alternative signaling outcomes. Second, different Tolls can preferentially promote cell survival or death. Third, distinct adaptors downstream of Tolls can drive either apoptosis or cell survival. Toll-6 promotes cell survival via MyD88–NF-κB and cell death via Wek-Sarm-JNK. The distribution of adaptors changes in space and time and may segregate to distinct neural circuits. This novel mechanism for CNS cell plasticity may operate in wider contexts. PMID:28373203

Full Text Available Toll-like receptors (TLR play an important role in anti-infectious defense of organisms. So far in humans 10 receptors have been identified. They were classified into five different subfamilies according to their affinity to characteristic ligands. Every receptor has a similar structure (extracellular part, intramembrane part and cytoplasmic part, irrespective of a type of the ligands with which it reacts. Ligands are present on many cell types, including on those which make up the skin. That is why Toll-like receptors are an important part of the cutaneous, non-specific immunologic response. In the review problems associated with the structure and functions of Toll-like receptors are presented. Moreover, the latest information about the role of TLR in the etiology of some dermatoses (psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, acne vulgaris, rosacea, infections, systemic lupus erythematosus, mycosis fungoides is discussed. In addition, therapeutic implications are ¬described.

To investigate drivers' lane-changing behavior under different information feedback strategies, a microscopic traffic simulation based on the cellular automaton model was made on the typical freeway with a regular lane and a high-occupancy one. A new dynamic tolling scheme in terms of the real-time traffic condition on the high-occupancy lane was further designed to enhance the whole freeway's flow throughput. The results show that the mean velocity feedback strategy is generally more efficient than the travel time feedback strategy in correctly guiding drivers' lane choice behavior. Specifically, the toll level, lane-changing rate and freeway's throughput and congestion coefficient induced by the travel time feedback strategy oscillate with larger amplitude and longer period. In addition, the dynamic tolling scheme can make the high-occupancy lane less congested and maximize the freeway's throughput when the regular-lane inflow rate is larger than 0.45.

Toll-like receptors (TLR) are pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) recognition receptors that play an important role in protective immunity against infection and inflammation. They act as central integrators of a wide variety of signals, responding to diverse agonists of microbial products. Stimulation of Toll-like receptors by microbial products leads to signaling pathways that activate not only innate, but also adaptive immunity by APC dependent or independent mechanisms. Recent evidence revealed that TLR signals played a determining role in the skewing of naive T cells towards either Thl or Th2 responses. Activation of Toll-like receptors also directly or indirectly influences regulatory T cell functions. Therefore, TLRs are required in both immune activation and immune regulation. Study of TLRs has significantly enhanced our understanding of innate and adaptive immune responses and provides novel therapeutic approaches against infectious and inflammatory diseases. Cellular & Molecular Immunology.

Toll-like receptors (TLR) are pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) recognition receptors that play an important role in protective immunity against infection and inflammation. They act as central integrators of a wide variety of signals, responding to diverse agonists of microbial products. Stimulation of Toll-like receptors by microbial products leads to signaling pathways that activate not only innate, but also adaptive immunity by APC dependent or independent mechanisms. Recent evidence revealed that TLR signals played a determining role in the skewing of na(i)ve T cells towards either Th1 or Th2 responses. Activation of Toll-like receptors also directly or indirectly influences regulatory T cell functions. Therefore, TLRs are required in both immune activation and immune regulation. Study of TLRs has significantly enhanced our understanding of innate and adaptive immune responses and provides novel therapeutic approaches against infectious and inflammatory diseases.

Toll-like receptors (TLR) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of arthritis. We investigated the role of functional variants of TLR in the disease phenotype and severity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).......Toll-like receptors (TLR) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of arthritis. We investigated the role of functional variants of TLR in the disease phenotype and severity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)....

Full Text Available 18631453 When signaling pathways collide: positive and negative regulation of toll-...l) Show When signaling pathways collide: positive and negative regulation of toll-likereceptor signal transd...uction. PubmedID 18631453 Title When signaling pathways collide: positive and neg

Toll-like receptors are pattern-recognition receptors of the innate immune system that are activated during viral, bacterial or other infections, as well as during disease progression of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR-5) specifically recognizes bacterial infection through...

... ferry facilities? 170.130 Section 170.130 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR... Toll, Ferry and Airport Facilities § 170.130 How can tribes use Federal highway funds for toll and ferry facilities? (a) A tribe can use Federal-aid highway funds, including IRR Program funds, to study...

The aetiology of childhood asthma is complex. An early dysfunction in the immunological development of the innate immune system in combination with environmental factors possibly triggers asthma. CD14 and toll-like receptors are important components of the innate immune system. The aim of this systematic review was to obtain a better insight into the relation between CD14 and toll-like receptors and childhood asthma in Caucasians. We searched PubMed and EMBASE for relevant articles. In total, 44 articles were included. The quality of the selected studies was independently assessed by the first two authors using the Newcastle-Ottawa quality assessment scale. Toll-like receptor 2, toll-like receptor 6, toll-like receptor 9, and toll-like receptor 10 appear to have some association with childhood asthma in Caucasians. The evidence for a relation of CD14 with childhood asthma is limited. In conclusion, there is no convincing evidence yet for a role of CD14 and toll-like receptors in relation to childhood asthma. Future studies should include haplotype analysis and take environmental factors into account to further clarify the role of CD14 and toll-like receptors on childhood asthma.

BACKGROUND: Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) plays an important role in the occurrence and development of acute pancreatitis (AP). Apoptosis of pancreatic cells is closely related to the severity of AP. TLR4 is known to induce apoptosis in some cell types and therefore it is of importance to investigate potential associations between TLR4 activity and apoptosis in the setting of AP. METHODS: A total of 50 wild-type (C57BL/10J) and TLR4-deifcient (C57BL/10ScNJ) mice were divided into three groups:2-hour, 4-hour, and control groups. Each group was divided into two equal subgroups: TLR4-wild-type mice and TLR4-deifcient mice. AP was experimentally induced by 7 intraperitoneal injections of 50μg/kg cerulein at hourly intervals. Control mice received 7 injections of equal volumes of saline. The severity of pancreatic injury during AP was assessed by serum amylase concentration and histopathology. The level of apoptosis of pancreatic cells in response to AP was evaluated by calculating the apoptotic index (AI) and comparing the expression levels of cytochrome C and Fas-associated protein with death domain (FADD) between TLR4-wild-type and TLR4-deifcient mice at 2 time points. RESULTS: The AI was found to be signiifcantly lower in the pancreas of TLR4-deifcient mice with AP compared to TLR4-wild-type mice at two hours after the last treatment injection. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction also revealed signiifcantly lower expression of cytochrome C and FADD in the pancreas of TLR4-deifcient mice than in TLR4-wild-type animals at the same time point. Serum amylase concentration and morphological severity of AP in pancreatic tissue were found to be similar in the two strains of mice at both time points. CONCLUSION: We postulate that TLR4 can mediate apoptosis of pancreatic cells during the early stages of AP, via the activation of both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic signaling pathways.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Melioidosis, a lethal tropical infection that is endemic in southeast Asia and northern Australia, is caused by the saprophytic Gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei. Overall mortality approaches 40% yet little is known about mechanisms of host defense. Toll-like receptors (TLRs are host transmembrane receptors that recognize conserved pathogen molecular patterns and induce an inflammatory response. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS of Gram-negative bacteria is a potent inducer of the host innate immune system. TLR4, in association with MD-2, is the archetype receptor for LPS although B. pseudomallei LPS has been previously identified as a TLR2 agonist. We examined TLR signaling induced by B. pseudomallei, B. pseudomallei LPS, and B. pseudomallei lipid A using gain-of-function transfection assays of NF-κB activation and studies of TLR-deficient macrophages. Results In HEK293 cells transfected with murine or human TLRs, CD14, and MD-2, heat-killed B. pseudomallei activated TLR2 (in combination with TLR1 or TLR6 and TLR4. B. pseudomallei LPS and lipid A activated TLR4 and this TLR4-mediated signaling required MD-2. In TLR2-/- macrophages, stimulation with heat-killed B. pseudomallei augmented TNF-α and MIP-2 production whereas in TLR4-/- cells, TNF-α, MIP-2, and IL-10 production was reduced. Cytokine production by macrophages stimulated with B. pseudomallei LPS or lipid A was entirely dependent on TLR4 but was increased in the absence of TLR2. TLR adaptor molecule MyD88 strongly regulated TNF-α production in response to heat-killed B. pseudomallei. Conclusion B. pseudomallei activates TLR2 and TLR4. In the presence of MD-2, B. pseudomallei LPS and lipid A are TLR4 ligands. Although the macrophage cytokine response to B. pseudomallei LPS or lipid A is completely dependent on TLR4, in TLR2-/- macrophages stimulated with B. pseudomallei, B. pseudomallei LPS or lipid A, cytokine production is augmented. Other MyD88

Full Text Available 16930560 Toll-like receptors: from the discovery of NFkappaB to new insights intotr...2-13. Epub 2006 Aug 22. (.png) (.svg) (.html) (.csml) Show Toll-like receptors: from the discovery of NFkappaB to new...6930560 Title Toll-like receptors: from the discovery of NFkappaB to new insights intotranscriptional regula

Bartonella quintana is a gram-negative microorganism that causes trench fever and chronic bacteremia. B. quintana lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was unable to induce the production of proinflammatory cytokines in human monocytes. Interestingly, B. quintana LPS is a potent antagonist of Toll-like receptor

Bartonella quintana (B. quintana) is a facultative, intracellular bacterium, which causes trench fever, chronic bacteraemia and bacillary angiomatosis. Little is known about the recognition of B. quintana by the innate immune system. In this review, we address the impact of Toll-like receptors (TLRs

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are probably the most important class of pattern-recognition receptors. Recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) by TLRs, either alone or in heterodimerization with other TLR or non-TLR receptors, induces the production of signals that are responsible

The first national toll free suicide crisis line for South Africa was launched in October 2003 with the aim of providing a service dedicated to the prevention of suicide in this country. The intervention was motivated by South Africa's suicide rate which had risen higher than the global suicide rate, with the majority of attempted suicides…

Reactive gliosis is a prominent feature of neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory disease in the CNS, yet the stimuli that drive this response are not known. There is growing appreciation that signaling through Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which is key to generating innate responses to infection,...... to neuroinflammation. Udgivelsesdato: Dec-6...

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are receptors that continuously scour their direct surroundings for pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) of bacterial, viral or fungal origin. TLRs can be found at cells that play a role in the immune system. Binding of the TLR with its corresponding ligand

Tissue fibrosis and chronic inflammation are common causes of progressive organ damage, including progressive renal disease, leading to loss of physiological functions. Recently, it was shown that Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) is expressed in the kidney and activated by endogenous danger signals. The

The present study sets out to provide an ex ante insight into the equity effects of a toll charge on the traffic diversions and geographical accessibility of work locations in the Cape Town metropolitan region, South Africa. Based on a static traffic assignment model and aggregate accessibility

Toll-like receptors (TLR) are ancient innate immune receptors crucial for immune homeostasis and protection against infection. TLRs are present in mammals, birds, amphibians and fish but have not been functionally characterized in reptiles despite the central position of this animal class in vert

Chronic low-grade inflammation is a hallmark of obesity and thought to contribute to the development of obesity-related insulin resistance. Toll-like receptor 4 (Tlr4) is a key mediator of pro-inflammatory responses. Mice lacking Tlr4s are protected from diet-induced insulin resistance and inflammat...

Full Text Available Indonesian government attempts to improve connectivity and to increase regional activities in SumateraIsland through the development of Trans Sumatera Toll Road (TSTR.However, despite its benefits to local economic development in Sumatera, the project shows low feasibility due to a low amount of investment. It can be attributed from the lack of planning in the initial phase to produce a comprehensive route that considers the various potentials of the regions. Thus, this research aims to investigate alternative routeplanning of Trans Sumatera Toll Road particularly in this paper for Central Sumatera by studying Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP, population and other significant factors. This research exposes cities and districts in Riau, West Sumatera, and Jambi which potentially contribute to the regional economy. Each selected towns and districts will be integrated with the intermodal system and connected to other functions to establish the Trans Sumatera Toll Roadproject in Central Sumatera. Compared to existing estimation of investment from public records, this alternative route has generated a competitive cost of investment which is estimated around 118,053,400,074,696 rupiahs. The research findings are expected to become the basis to improve other similar infrastructure toll road project development.

Full Text Available Objectives: Genetic variants in Toll-like receptors (TLRs are considered a potential indicator for host susceptibility to and outcome of several infectious diseases including tuberculosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether −129 C/G and Met1Val polymorphisms of TLR8 were associated with pediatric pulmonary tuberculosis in Turkish population.

Activation of pattern recognition receptors such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs) by pathogens leads to activation and maturation of dendritic cells (DC), which orchestrate the development of the adaptive immune response. To create an overview of the effects of a broad range of pathogenic bacteria, the

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) that play key roles in inflammation are also widely expressed in the CNS. While they are well known to activate inflammatory responses to microbial products, TLRs fulfill additional roles in the absence of infection. Emerging evidence suggests that several TLRs play a role

Recent experimental and clinical studies have placed new emphasis on the role of the innate immune system in SLE. Nucleic acid-containing immune complexes activate the innate response by engaging specific Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and promote the generation of autoantibodies. Pharmacologic modulation of TLR-directed pathways may offer new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of SLE. PMID:18722558

Members of the family Suidae have diverged over extended evolutionary periods in diverse environments, suggesting that adaptation in response to endemic infectious agents may have occurred. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) comprise a multigene family that acts as the first line of defense against infectio

Members of the family Suidae have diverged over extended evolutionary periods in diverse environments, suggesting that adaptation in response to endemic infectious agents may have occurred. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) comprise a multigene family that acts as the first line of defense against

Like other vertebrate Toll-like receptors (TLRs), the TLRs of teleost fish can be subdivided into six major families, each of which recognize a general class of molecular patterns. However, there also are a number of Tlrs with unknown function, the presence of which seems unique to the bony fish, am

The zebrafish genomic sequence database was analysed for the presence of genes encoding members of the Toll-like receptors (TLR) and interleukin receptors (IL-R) and associated adaptor proteins containing a TIR domain. The resulting predictions show the presence of one or more counterparts for the

Obligation, or the binding responsibility to respond to the other, both lends teaching its moral integrity, but also takes an enormous emotional toll on those who teach. Obligation is of particular importance today given that education is increasingly being restructured by ideologies of the market and managerialism that seek to minimize the moral…

BACKGROUND:: Mechanical ventilation induces diaphragm muscle atrophy, which plays a key role in difficult weaning from mechanical ventilation. The signaling pathways involved in ventilator-induced diaphragm atrophy are poorly understood. The current study investigated the role of Toll-like receptor

Tissue fibrosis and chronic inflammation are common causes of progressive organ damage, including progressive renal disease, leading to loss of physiological functions. Recently, it was shown that Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) is expressed in the kidney and activated by endogenous danger signals. The

Activation of pattern recognition receptors such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs) by pathogens leads to activation and maturation of dendritic cells (DC), which orchestrate the development of the adaptive immune response. To create an overview of the effects of a broad range of pathogenic bacteria, the

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) participate in the defence against bacterial infections that are common in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). We studied all tagging SNPs in TLR2 and TLR4 and their associations with the level and change over time of both FEV1 and sputum inflammato

Full Text Available This review describes the main role of toll-like receptors of innate immunity for pathogen recognition; signaling; production of inflammatory response. Also Interrelation of innate and adaptive Immunity in conditions of pathology and organ transplantation were considered.

Full Text Available Toll-like receptors (TLRs act as the first line of defense against bacterial and viral pathogens by initiating critical defense signals upon dimer activation. The contribution of the transmembrane domain in the dimerization and signaling process has heretofore been overlooked in favor of the extracellular and intracellular domains. As mounting evidence suggests that the transmembrane domain is a critical region in several protein families, we hypothesized that this was also the case for Toll-like receptors. Using a combined biochemical and biophysical approach, we investigated the ability of isolated Toll-like receptor transmembrane domains to interact independently of extracellular domain dimerization. Our results showed that the transmembrane domains had a preference for the native dimer partners in bacterial membranes for the entire receptor family. All TLR transmembrane domains showed strong homotypic interaction potential. The TLR2 transmembrane domain demonstrated strong heterotypic interactions in bacterial membranes with its known interaction partners, TLR1 and TLR6, as well as with a proposed interaction partner, TLR10, but not with TLR4, TLR5, or unrelated transmembrane receptors providing evidence for the specificity of TLR2 transmembrane domain interactions. Peptides for the transmembrane domains of TLR1, TLR2, and TLR6 were synthesized to further study this subfamily of receptors. These peptides validated the heterotypic interactions seen in bacterial membranes and demonstrated that the TLR2 transmembrane domain had moderately strong interactions with both TLR1 and TLR6. Combined, these results suggest a role for the transmembrane domain in Toll-like receptor oligomerization and as such, may be a novel target for further investigation of new therapeutic treatments of Toll-like receptor mediated diseases.

Full Text Available Hong-Tao Xiao,1,* Zhi Liao,2,* Rong-Sheng Tong11Department of Pharmacy, 2Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, China*These authors contributed equally to this workBackground: The aim of this review was to evaluate and summarize the available scientific information on penehyclidine hydrochloride (PHC for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD as a result of its ability to attenuate Toll-like receptors. Penehyclidine hydrochloride is an anticholinergic drug manufactured in China, with both antimuscarinic and antinicotinic activity. PHC is used widely in the clinic as a reversal agent in cases of organic phosphorus poisoning and soman poisoning, but also may also have an important role as a bronchodilator in the treatment of obstructive airway disease, including asthma and, in particular, COPD.Methods: Our bibliographic sources included the CAPLUS, MEDLINE, REGISTRY, CASREACT, CHEMLIST, CHEMCATS, and CNKI databases, updated to September 2012. In order to assess the data in detail, we used the search terms “penehyclidine hydrochloride,” “COPD,” “muscarinic receptor,” and “toll-like receptors.” Papers were restricted to those published in the English and Chinese languages, and to “paper” and “review” as the document type. Patents were also reviewed.Results: Our survey mainly yielded the results of research on PHC and the mechanisms of COPD. COPD is a preventable and treatable disease with some significant extrapulmonary manifestations that may contribute to its severity in some patients. Recently, it has been shown that muscarinic receptors may interact with Toll-like receptors. Basic and clinical studies of the relationship between the mechanism of action and the effects of PHC in the respiratory tract have been studied by a number of laboratories and institutions. The main advantages of PHC are that it has few M2

AIM: A growing body of evidence suggests a role of the toll-like receptors (TLR) in inflammatory processes. In addition to LPS,TLR are activated by many endogenous ligands such as heat shock proteins and oxygeil-derived free radicals which are both produced during cardiac ischemia-reperfusion (I/R). Among TLR,TLR-2 and TLR-4 are expressed in endothelial and myocardial cells and appear to regulate neutrophil-endothelial interactions.Since neutrophil adhesion is a critical event in endothelial injury

Toll-like receptors (TLR) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of arthritis. We investigated the role of functional variants of TLR in the disease phenotype and severity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)....

Blunt chest trauma resulting in pulmonary contusion with an accompanying acute inflammatory response is a common but poorly understood injury. We previously demonstrated that toll-like receptor 2 participates in the inflammatory response to lung injury. We hypothesized that the toll-like receptor 4, in a MyD88-dependent manner, may also participate in the response to lung injury. To investigate this, we used a model of pulmonary contusion in the mouse that is similar to that observed clinical...

Full Text Available constraints to expand and maintain increasingly congested urban-based national road network, in 2005 the Minister of Transport announced phased proposals to toll the network, beginning with a 185km of existing national road network located in Gauteng... of introducing the user-pays principle infrastructure financing approach in the context of tolling of a pre-existing urban road network in a developing country. It uses readily available transport planning data in South Africa to evaluate the merits...

The toll-like receptor (TLR) system constitutes a pylogenetically ancient, evolutionary conserved, archetypal pattern recognition system, which underpins pathogen recognition by and activation of the immune system. Toll-like receptor agonists have long been used as immunoadjuvants in anti cancer immunotherapy. However, TLRs are increasingly implicated in human disease pathogenesis and an expanding body of both clinical and experimental evidence suggests that the neoplastic process may subvert TLR signalling pathways to advance cancer progression. Recent discoveries in the TLR system open a multitude of potential therapeutic avenues. Extrapolation of such TLR system manipulations to a clinical oncological setting demands care to prevent potentially deleterious activation of TLR-mediated survival pathways. Thus, the TLR system is a double-edge sword, which needs to be carefully wielded in the setting of neoplastic disease.

Campylobacter jejuni causes gastroenteritis and autoimmune neuropathy Guillain-Barré syndrome. The mechanism by which C. jejuni infection results in such the hyperimmunity is not completely understood. Host immunity plays an important role in the disease pathogenesis; however, little is known how immune system recognizes this human pathogen. In this study, we report that Toll-like receptors recognize distinct proteinase K-resistant glycoconjugates in C. jejuni and Escherichia coli. Lipopolysaccharide is solely proteinase-resistant glycoconjugate in E. coli. In contrast, C. jejuni possesses at least five different components that are resistant to proteinase digestion and are capable of inducing NF-κB activation through TLR2 and TLR4. Possession of multiple activators of Toll-like receptors may be the unique strategy of C. jejuni to trigger hyperimmunity.

Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) recognizes double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), a molecular signature of most viruses, and triggers inflammatory responses that prevent viral spread. TLR3 ectodomains (ECDs) dimerize on oligonucleotides of at least 40 to 50 base pairs in length, the minimal length required for signal transduction. To establish the molecular basis for ligand binding and signaling, we determined the crystal structure of a complex between two mouse TLR3-ECDs and dsRNA at 3.4 angstrom resolution. Each TLR3-ECD binds dsRNA at two sites located at opposite ends of the TLR3 horseshoe, and an intermolecular contact between the two TLR3-ECD C-terminal domains coordinates and stabilizes the dimer. This juxtaposition could mediate downstream signaling by dimerizing the cytoplasmic Toll interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domains. The overall shape of the TLR3-ECD does not change upon binding to dsRNA.

Toll-free lines for public insurance programs are a major point of entry to inquire about information. More than 1 million Californians are eligible for public insurance programs based on income but not yet enrolled. In 2000 and 2002, a "mystery-shopper" survey was conducted to ascertain overall effectiveness and interlanguage variation for information provided in Armenian, Cantonese, English, Farsi, Hmong, Khmer, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Although the 2002 study showed statistically significant improvements from 2000, many constructs remained problematic. In 2002, for example, statistically significant interlanguage variation was identified in discussing and checking eligibility for the program. Specifically, Spanish and Armenian callers were less likely than other language callers to have eligibility checked or deemed eligible. Removing barriers to enrollment in public insurance programs often requires political solutions, but improving customer service for the toll-free line necessitates efficiency and a focus on continuous quality improvement.

As a governmental charge designated for port construction, the port construction toll, plays an important role in improving national maritime infrastructure. This paper analyzes the risks existing in the toll collection from the perspective of cargo, toll procedure, toll operation, special logistics operation, toll operator and management. An evaluation model is built using fuzzy analysis technique with a case study followed. The study is expected to pave foundation for the toll risk evaluation and the operation analysis.%港口建设费是一项专用于港口建设的国家政府性基金，它对于促进我国水运基础设施建设起到了重要作用。文中从征管货物认定、征管流程、征收业务操作、特殊物流环节、征收财务管理和征管人员等方面分析了港口建设费征收工作中的管理风险，用模糊综合评判方法建立评价模型，并进行了案例分析。为正确认识和评价港口建设费征收风险提供了参考。

This article reviews the evidence that ties the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to the natural immune pro-inflammatory response to chronic liver disease, with a focus on the role of Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling as the mechanism of liver stem cell/progenitor transformation to HCC. Two exemplary models of this phenomenon are reviewed in detail. One model applies chronic ethanol/lipopolysaccharide feeding to the activated TLR4 signaling pathway. The other applies chronic feeding of a carcin...

The Toll-like receptors represent a largely evolutionarily conserved pathogen recognition machinery responsible for recognition of bacterial, fungal, protozoan, and viral pathogen associated microbial patterns and initiation of inflammatory response. Structurally the Toll-like receptors are comprised of an extracellular leucine rich repeat domain and a cytoplasmic Toll/Interleukin 1 receptor domain. Recognition takes place in the extracellular domain where as the cytoplasmic domain triggers a complex signal network required to sustain appropriate immune response. Signal transduction is regulated by the recruitment of different intracellular adaptors. The Toll-like receptors can be grouped depending on the usage of the adaptor, MyD88, into MyD88-dependent and MyD88 independent subsets. Herein, we present a unique phylogenetic analysis of domain regions of these receptors and their cognate signaling adaptor molecules. Although previously unclear from the phylogeny of full length receptors, these analyses indicate a separate evolutionary origin for the MyD88-dependent and MyD88-independent signaling pathway and provide evidence of a common ancestor for the vertebrate and invertebrate orthologs of the adaptor molecule MyD88. Together these observations suggest a very ancient origin of the MyD88-dependent pathway Additionally we show that early duplications gave rise to several adaptor molecule families. In some cases there is also strong pattern of parallel duplication between adaptor molecules and their corresponding TLR. Our results further support the hypothesis that phylogeny of specific domains involved in signaling pathway can shed light on key processes that link innate to adaptive immune response. PMID:23326591

The pathogenesis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is poorly understood. One contributory factor may be low-grade mucosal inflammation, perhaps initiated by the microbiota. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a family of pathogen-recognition receptors of the innate immune system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential involvement of TLRs in IBS to further understand the involvement of the innate immune system in this complex disorder.

Toll-like receptor (TLR) responses are regulated to avoid toxicity and achieve coordinated responses appropriate for the cell environment. We found that Notch and TLR pathways cooperated to activate canonical Notch target genes, including transcriptional repressors Hes1 and Hey1, and to increase production of canonical TLR-induced cytokines TNF, IL-6 and IL-12. Cooperation by these pathways to increase target gene expression was mediated the Notch pathway component and transcription factor RB...

The African penguin, Spheniscus demersus, is listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to the drastic reduction in population numbers over the last 20 years. To date, the only studies on immunogenetic variation in penguins have been conducted on the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes. It was shown in humans that up to half of the genetic variability in immune responses to pathogens are located in non-MHC genes. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are now increasingl...

Reverse genetics is a powerful tool for understanding gene functions and their interactions in the mosquito innate immunity. We took the transgenic approach, in combination with the RNA interference (RNAi) technique, to elucidate the role of mosquito REL1, a homolog of Drosophila Dorsal, in regulation of Toll immune pathway in the mosquito Aedes aegypti. By transforming the mosquitoes with DeltaREL1-A or a double-stranded RNA construct of REL1 driven by the female fat body-specific vitellogenin (Vg) promoter with the pBac[3xP3-EGFP, afm] vector, we generated two different transgenic mosquito strains, one with overexpressed AaREL1 and the second with AaREL1 knockdown. Both strains had a single copy of the respective transgene, and the expression in both transgenic mosquitoes was highly activated by blood feeding. Vg-DeltaREL1-A transgenic mosquitoes activate Toll immune pathway in the fat body by blood feeding. The overexpression of both isoforms, AaREL1-A and AaREL1-B, in Vg-DeltaREL1-A transgenic mosquitoes resulted in the concomitant activation of Aedes Spätzle1A and Serpin-27A, independent of septic injury. The same phenotype was observed in the mosquitoes with RNAi knockdown of an Aedes homolog to Drosophila cactus, an IkappaB inhibitor of Drosophila Toll pathway. The effect of the transgenic RNAi knockdown of AaREL1 on mosquito innate immunity was revealed by increased susceptibility to the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana and the reduced induction of Spz1A and Serpin-27A gene expression after fungal challenge. These results have proven that AaREL1 is a key downstream regulator of Toll immune pathway in the mosquito A. aegypti.

Indonesia has a huge number of renewable energy sources (RE) however; the utilization of these is currently very low. The main challenge of power production is its alignment with consumption levels; supply should equal demand at all times. There is a strong initiative from corporations with high energy demand, compared to other sectors, to apply a renewable portfolio standard for their energy input, e.g. 15% of their energy consumption requirement must come from a renewable energy source. To support this initiative, the utilization of power wheeling will help large factories on industrial estates to source firm and steady renewables from remote sites. The wheeling renewable via PLN’s transmission line has been regulated under the Ministry Decree in 2015 however; the tariff or toll fee has not yet been defined. The potential project to apply wheeling renewable will obtain power supply from a geothermal power plant, with power demand from the scattered factories under one company. This is the concept driving the application of power wheeling in the effort to push the growth of renewable energy in Indonesia. Given that the capacity of PLN’s transmission line are normally large and less congested compared to distribution line, the wheeling renewable can accommodate the scattered factories locations which then results in the cheaper toll fee of the wheeling renewable. Defining the best toll fee is the main topic of this paper with comparison of the toll fee of the gas pipeline infrastructure in Indonesia, so that it can be applied massively to achieve COP21’s commitment.

Full Text Available Since the discovery of the endocannabinoid system consisting of cannabinoid receptors, endogenous ligands, and biosynthetic and metabolizing enzymes, interest has been renewed in investigating the promise of cannabinoids as therapeutic agents. Abundant evidence indicates that cannabinoids modulate immune responses. An inflammatory response is triggered when innate immune cells receive a danger signal provided by pathogen- or damage-associated molecular patterns engaging pattern-recognition receptors. Toll-like receptor family members are prominent pattern-recognition receptors expressed on innate immune cells. Cannabinoids suppress Toll-like receptor-mediated inflammatory responses. However, the relationship between the endocannabinoid system and innate immune system may not be one-sided. Innate immune cells express cannabinoid receptors and produce endogenous cannabinoids. Hence, innate immune cells may play a role in regulating endocannabinoid homeostasis, and, in turn, the endocannabinoid system modulates local inflammatory responses. Studies designed to probe the interaction between the innate immune system and the endocannabinoid system may identify new potential molecular targets in developing therapeutic strategies for chronic inflammatory diseases. This review discusses the endocannabinoid system and Toll-like receptor family and evaluates the interaction between them.

The main purpose of this study is to theoretically estimate the death toll caused by collapsed buildings in different regions of Taiwan from future earthquakes according to the empirical data of the 1999 7.6 Chi-Chi earthquake that occurred in Taiwan. The results are presented in a quadratic equation that relates collapsed buildings with Modified Mercalli Intensity (), then matching with a novel reliable function. It is found that two zones are subject to high collapsed building, one zone extends from Hsinchu southward to Taichung, Nantou, Chiayi, and Tainan in western Taiwan and the other extends from Ilan southward to Hualian and Taitung in eastern Taiwan. These zones are also characterized by low b values.We also present the expected probability of collapsed buildings as a function of waiting time in ten major metropolitan areas of Taiwan. The results exhibit relatively low expected probabilities in Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Hengchun; hence, the expected death toll due to collapsed buildings is very low (e.g., the expected death toll in Kaohsiung is zero). However, a relatively high number of collapsed buildings is found for most other areas. These results should be of use to government regulators and practicing engineers in enforcing appropriate building codes to effectively mitigate potential seismic hazards.

Full Text Available Barrier epithelia that are persistently exposed to microbes have evolved potent immune tools to eliminate such pathogens. If mechanisms that control Drosophila systemic responses are well-characterized, the epithelial immune responses remain poorly understood. Here, we performed a genetic dissection of the cascades activated during the immune response of the Drosophila airway epithelium i.e. trachea. We present evidence that bacteria induced-antimicrobial peptide (AMP production in the trachea is controlled by two signalling cascades. AMP gene transcription is activated by the inducible IMD pathway that acts non-cell autonomously in trachea. This IMD-dependent AMP activation is antagonized by a constitutively active signalling module involving the receptor Toll-8/Tollo, the ligand Spätzle2/DNT1 and Ect-4, the Drosophila ortholog of the human Sterile alpha and HEAT/ARMadillo motif (SARM. Our data show that, in addition to Toll-1 whose function is essential during the systemic immune response, Drosophila relies on another Toll family member to control the immune response in the respiratory epithelium.

Barrier epithelia that are persistently exposed to microbes have evolved potent immune tools to eliminate such pathogens. If mechanisms that control Drosophila systemic responses are well-characterized, the epithelial immune responses remain poorly understood. Here, we performed a genetic dissection of the cascades activated during the immune response of the Drosophila airway epithelium i.e. trachea. We present evidence that bacteria induced-antimicrobial peptide (AMP) production in the trachea is controlled by two signalling cascades. AMP gene transcription is activated by the inducible IMD pathway that acts non-cell autonomously in trachea. This IMD-dependent AMP activation is antagonized by a constitutively active signalling module involving the receptor Toll-8/Tollo, the ligand Spätzle2/DNT1 and Ect-4, the Drosophila ortholog of the human Sterile alpha and HEAT/ARMadillo motif (SARM). Our data show that, in addition to Toll-1 whose function is essential during the systemic immune response, Drosophila relies on another Toll family member to control the immune response in the respiratory epithelium. PMID:22022271

Background The aim of this study was to investigate the role of gene variations of Toll-like receptors (TLR) 2, 3, and 4 on genetic susceptibility to periapical pathosis. Material and Methods One hundred patients were included in the study and divided into two groups as follows; Control Group (n=50) that have root canal treatment and no periapical lesion, Patient Group (n=50) that have root canal treatment and periapical lesion. TLR2 Arg753Gln, TLR3 (c.1377C/T) and TLR4 Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile polymorphisms were genotyped by using PCR-RFLP. Genotypical analysis of control and patient groups were investigated to disclose whether there is any association between periapical lesions and gene variations. Results There are no significant statistical differences between control and patient groups according to TLR 2 and 4 gene sequence. On the contrary, CC allele detected 74% for TLR 3 in patient group, and this difference was found to be statistically significant (p < 0.005). Conclusions According to these results, it can be suggested that patients with Toll-like receptor 3 gene polymorphisms could be susceptible to periapical pathosis. Key words:Toll-like receptors, periapical pathosis, endodontics. PMID:27031066

Full Text Available Human blood basophils have recently gained interest in addition to their function as allergic effector cells. Previous work suggests the involvement of innate immune mechanisms in the development and exacerbation of allergic responses, which might be mediated by basophils. We assayed the expression levels of Toll-like receptor (TLR 1, 2, 4 and 6 on purified basophils from birch pollen-, house dust mite-, and non-allergic individuals. Additionally, we compared cytokine and chemokine secretion upon TLR stimulation in these basophil donor groups. Expression of TLR4 on the basophils of the allergic donor groups was decreased and CXCL8 secretion was elevated upon stimulation of TLR1/2 and TLR2/6 compared to the non-allergic donors. Decreased TLR expression and elevated CXCL8 secretion may represent possible mechanisms for aggravation of allergic symptoms in case of parasitic infection.

The Drosophila Toll-signaling pathway controls the systemic antifungal host response. Gram-negative binding protein 3 (GNBP3), a member of the beta-glucan recognition protein family senses fungal infections and activates this pathway. A second detection system perceives the activity of proteolytic fungal virulence factors and redundantly activates Toll. GNBP3(hades) mutant flies succumb more rapidly to Candida albicans and to entomopathogenic fungal infections than WT flies, despite normal triggering of the Toll pathway via the virulence detection system. These observations suggest that GNBP3 triggers antifungal defenses that are not dependent on activation of the Toll pathway. Here, we show that GNBP3 agglutinates fungal cells. Furthermore, it can activate melanization in a Toll-independent manner. Melanization is likely to be an essential defense against some fungal infections given that the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana inhibits the activity of the main melanization enzymes, the phenol oxidases. Finally, we show that GNBP3 assembles "attack complexes", which comprise phenoloxidase and the necrotic serpin. We propose that Drosophila GNBP3 targets fungi immediately at the inception of the infection by bringing effector molecules in direct contact with the invading microorganisms.

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Toll-like receptor proteins are important in host defense and initiation of the innate and adaptive immune responses. A number of studies have identified associations between genetic variation in the Toll-like receptor genes and allergic disorders such as asthma and allergic rhinitis. The present study aim to search for genetic variation associated with allergic rhinitis in the Toll-like receptor genes. Methods A first association analysis genotyped 73 SNPs in 182 cases and 378 controls from a Swedish population. Based on these results an additional 24 SNPs were analyzed in one Swedish population with 352 cases and 709 controls and one Chinese population with 948 cases and 580 controls. Results The first association analysis identified 4 allergic rhinitis-associated SNPs in the TLR7-TLR8 gene region. Subsequent analysis of 24 SNPs from this region identified 7 and 5 significant SNPs from the Swedish and Chinese populations, respectively. The corresponding risk-associated haplotypes are significant after Bonferroni correction and are the most common haplotypes in both populations. The associations are primarily detected in females in the Swedish population, whereas it is seen in males in the Chinese population. Further independent support for the involvement of this region in allergic rhinitis was obtained from quantitative skin prick test data generated in both populations. Conclusions Haplotypes in the TLR7-TLR8 gene region were associated with allergic rhinitis in one Swedish and one Chinese population. Since this region has earlier been associated with asthma and allergic rhinitis in a Danish linkage study this speaks strongly in favour of this region being truly involved in the development of this disease.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are found on the membranes of pattern recognition receptors and not only play important roles in activating immune responses but are also involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory disease, injury and cancer. Furthermore, TLRs are also able to recognize endogenous alarmins released by damaged tissue and necrosis and/or apoptotic cells and are present in numerous autoimmune diseases. Therefore, the release of endogenous TLR ligands plays an important role in initiating and driving inflammatory diseases. Increasing data suggest a role for TLR signaling in rheumatoid arthritis, which is an autoimmune disease. Although their involvement is not comprehensively understood, the TLRs signaling transducers may provide potential therapeutic targets.

For Whom the Bell Tollswas written by Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899-July 2, 1961), an American novelist, writer, and journalist. Hemingway received his Nobel Prize of Literature for"his mastery of the art of modern narration". However, there are few people analyze his work from the point view of narratology. This thesis would focus on the techniques of narratology to analyze For whom the bell tolls. The author would give you four parts of analysis, including narrative perspective, narrative structure, narrative mode, and narrative discourse.

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Cystic fibrosis (CF is a lung disease characterized by chronic infection with Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. Recently, toll-like receptor (TLR 4 has been shown to be responsible for the lipopolysaccharide (LPS-mediated immune response. While TLR2 mediates responses driven by bacterial lipoproteins and peptidoglycans from Gram-positive bacteria, LPS derived from P aeruginosa may stimulate the immune response in the airways of patients with CF via activation of TLR4.

Abstract In this study, we describe clinical and imaging spectrum, and the natural course of patients with disseminated cysticercosis. How albendazole affects the course of disease has also been evaluated. We assessed the Toll-like receptor-4 gene polymorphisms, to know the reason for the apparently higher prevalence of disseminated cysticercosis in India. Sixty consecutive patients with disseminated cysticercosis were enrolled. Sixty age-and-sex-matched healthy controls were also enrolled for the purpose of genetic study. Twenty patients, who gave consent, were treated with albendazole along with corticosteroids. Forty patients did not give consent for antiparasitic therapy. Assessment for Toll-like receptor-4 gene polymorphisms (Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile genes) was done. Patients were followed for 6 months. We also performed a literature search of cases published in English language using PubMed electronic database and analyzed 56 cases thus available. There was an increased risk (6.63 fold and 4.61 fold) of disseminated cysticercosis in the presence of Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile polymorphisms in Toll-like receptor-4, respectively. The allelic frequency of Gly (11% vs. 3%, P = 0.024, odds ratio [OR] = 3.52) and Ile alleles (11% vs. 2%, P = 0.009, OR = 4.738) in disseminated cysticercosis was high. Albendazole resulted in complete disappearance of all cerebral lesions in 35% (7/20) patients and reduction in lesion load in remaining 65% (13/20) patients. No significant change in number of cysticercal lesion was noted in patients who did not receive albendazole. No major adverse reaction following antiparasitic treatment was noted. Three deaths were recorded in patients who did not receive antiparasitic treatment. Of the 56 cases reported in PubMed, 33 patients received antiparasitic treatment with follow-up data available for 31 patients. Most (24) of these patients received albendazole. A significant clinical and/or imaging improvements, on follow up, were observed in

Chronic inflammation and aberrant lipid metabolism represent hallmarks of atherosclerosis. Innate immunity critically depends upon Toll-like receptor (TLR) signalling. Recent data directly implicate signalling by TLR4 and TLR2 in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The role that TLRs play in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis can be assessed by using several animal models, which provide a double genetic deficiency in TLRs and molecules implicated in the lipid metabolism, such as ApoE or LDL receptor. Furthermore, a more recent technique, such as the bone marrow transplantation (BMT), can be a useful and straightforward method to elucidate the role of stromal versus hematopoietic cells in the acceleration of the atheroma.

AIM:To test whether ethanol feeding could induce Toll-like receptor 4(TLR4)responses,assess the hepatoprotective effect of betaine and its inhibitive effect on TLR4 in animal models of alcoholic liver injury.METHODS:Forty-eight female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups as control,model,low and high dose betaine groups.Except control group,all rats were fed with high fat-containing diet plus ethanol and fish oil gavages for 8 wk.Betaine was administered intragastrically after exposure...

Full Text Available This review aims to summarize the latest efforts performed in the search for novel chemical entities such as Toll-like receptor (TLR modulators by means of virtual screening techniques. This is an emergent research field with only very recent (and successful contributions. Identification of drug-like molecules with potential therapeutic applications for the treatment of a variety of TLR-regulated diseases has attracted considerable interest due to the clinical potential. Additionally, the virtual screening databases and computational tools employed have been overviewed in a descriptive way, widening the scope for researchers interested in the field.

Reverse genetics is a powerful tool for understanding gene functions and their interactions in the mosquito innate immunity. We took the transgenic approach, in combination with the RNA interference (RNAi) technique, to elucidate the role of mosquito REL1, a homolog of Drosophila Dorsal, in regulation of Toll immune pathway in the mosquito Aedes aegypti. By transforming the mosquitoes with ΔREL1-A or a double-stranded RNA construct of REL1 driven by the female fat body-specific vitellogenin (...

This review aims to summarize the latest efforts performed in the search for novel chemical entities such as Toll-like receptor (TLR) modulators by means of virtual screening techniques. This is an emergent research field with only very recent (and successful) contributions. Identification of drug-like molecules with potential therapeutic applications for the treatment of a variety of TLR-regulated diseases has attracted considerable interest due to the clinical potential. Additionally, the virtual screening databases and computational tools employed have been overviewed in a descriptive way, widening the scope for researchers interested in the field. PMID:27618029

Full Text Available Abstract Helminth infection may modulate the expression of Toll like receptors (TLR in dendritic cells (DCs and modify the responsiveness of DCs to TLR ligands. This may regulate aberrant intestinal inflammation in humans with helminthes and may thus help alleviate inflammation associated with human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD. Epidemiological and experimental data provide further evidence that reducing helminth infections increases the incidence rate of such autoimmune diseases. Fine control of inflammation in the TLR pathway is highly desirable for effective host defense. Thus, the use of antagonists of TLR-signaling and agonists of their negative regulators from helminths or helminth products should be considered for the treatment of IBD.

The past 10 years have seen the description of families of receptors that drive proinflammatory cytokine production in infection and tissue injury. Two major classes have been examined in the context of inflammatory joint disease--the Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and NOD-like receptors (NLRs). TLRs such as TLR2 and TLR4 are being implicated in the pathology of rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, lyme arthritis and osteoarthritis. Nalp3 has been identified as a key NLR for IL-1beta production and has been shown to have a particular role in gout. These findings present new therapeutic opportunities, possibly allowing for the replacement of biologics with small molecule inhibitors.

There are at least two procedures for setting the tolls paid by power line users. One consists of regulating them in a standard process. The other, which is used in Argentina, involves auctioning the lines to the lowest toll. In this paper we show that an auction yields higher expected social welfare if n {>=} 2 bid. Expected social welfare is even higher if, as in Argentina, those who benefit from the line can also bid and build. Moreover, when the social welfare is utilitarian, an auction beats regulation even when the regulator can perfectly audit costs ex post. We describe and examine the auction of the fourth Comahue transmission line in Argentina. Assuming that the regulator's information about costs is similar to the information held by the industry, the model suggests that had tolls been regulated, they would have been at least 61% higher. (author)

Full Text Available Toll receptors transduce signals that activate Rel-family transcription factors, such as NF-κB, by directing proteolytic degradation of inhibitor proteins. In mammals, the IκB Kinase (IKK phosphorylates the inhibitor IκBα. A βTrCP protein binds to phosphorylated IκBα, triggering ubiquitination and proteasome mediated degradation. In Drosophila, Toll signaling directs Cactus degradation via a sequence motif that is highly similar to that in IκBα, but without involvement of IKK. Here we show that Pelle, the homolog of a mammalian regulator of IKK, acts as a Cactus kinase. We further find that the fly βTrCP protein Slimb is required in cultured cells to mediate Cactus degradation. These findings enable us for the first time to trace an uninterrupted pathway from the cell surface to the nucleus for Drosophila Toll signaling.

Full Text Available 16343886 How Toll-like receptors signal: what we know and what we don't know. O'Nei...like receptors signal: what we know and what we don't know. PubmedID 16343886 Title How Toll-like receptors ...signal: what we know and what we don't know. Authors O'Neill LA. Publication Curr

levels of DNaseI, Toll like receptors 7-9, Clec4e, pro-inflammatory cytokines and MMP2/MMP9 were determined and compared with in situ protein expression profiles and clinical data. We demonstrate that exposure of chromatin significantly up-regulate Toll like receptors and Clec4e in mice, and also...

Full Text Available Toll-like receptor 4 is a part of the innate immune system and recognizes Helicobacter pylori lipopolysaccharide. The goal of this study was to analyze the role of Toll-like receptor 4 polymorphisms +896 (rs4986790 and +1196 (rs4986791 in the pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori related gastroduodenal diseases in relation to gastric secretion and inflammation. Toll-like receptor 4 polymorphisms, serum gastrin-17 and pepsinogen I and II concentrations were determined, and gastroscopies with histopathological analyses were performed to 216 dyspeptic patients. As genotype controls, 179 controls and 61 gastric cancer patients were studied. In our study, the Toll-like receptor 4 +896 and +1196 polymorphisms were in total linkage disequilibrium. The homozygous wild types displayed higher gastrin-17 serum concentrations than the mutants (p = 0.001 and this effect was independent of Helicobacter pylori. The homozygous wild types also displayed an increased risk for peptic ulcers (OR: 4.390. Toll-like receptor 4 genotypes did not show any association with Helicobacter pylori positivity or the features of gastric inflammation. Toll-like receptor 4 expression was seen in gastrin and somatostatin expressing cells of antral mucosa by immunohistochemistry. Our results suggest a role for Toll-like receptor 4 in gastric acid regulation and that the Toll-like receptor 4 +896 and +1196 wild type homozygozity increases peptic ulcer risk via gastrin secretion.

Toll-like receptor 4 is a part of the innate immune system and recognizes Helicobacter pylori lipopolysaccharide. The goal of this study was to analyze the role of Toll-like receptor 4 polymorphisms +896 (rs4986790) and +1196 (rs4986791) in the pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori related gastroduodenal diseases in relation to gastric secretion and inflammation. Toll-like receptor 4 polymorphisms, serum gastrin-17 and pepsinogen I and II concentrations were determined, and gastroscopies with histopathological analyses were performed to 216 dyspeptic patients. As genotype controls, 179 controls and 61 gastric cancer patients were studied. In our study, the Toll-like receptor 4 +896 and +1196 polymorphisms were in total linkage disequilibrium. The homozygous wild types displayed higher gastrin-17 serum concentrations than the mutants (p = 0.001) and this effect was independent of Helicobacter pylori. The homozygous wild types also displayed an increased risk for peptic ulcers (OR: 4.390). Toll-like receptor 4 genotypes did not show any association with Helicobacter pylori positivity or the features of gastric inflammation. Toll-like receptor 4 expression was seen in gastrin and somatostatin expressing cells of antral mucosa by immunohistochemistry. Our results suggest a role for Toll-like receptor 4 in gastric acid regulation and that the Toll-like receptor 4 +896 and +1196 wild type homozygozity increases peptic ulcer risk via gastrin secretion. PMID:26161647

Full Text Available 15075354 Toll-like receptors and the host defense against microbial pathogens: brin... the host defense against microbial pathogens: bringingspecificity to the innate-...immune system. PubmedID 15075354 Title Toll-like receptors and the host defense against microbial pathogens:

Toll-like receptor 4 is a part of the innate immune system and recognizes Helicobacter pylori lipopolysaccharide. The goal of this study was to analyze the role of Toll-like receptor 4 polymorphisms +896 (rs4986790) and +1196 (rs4986791) in the pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori related gastroduodenal diseases in relation to gastric secretion and inflammation. Toll-like receptor 4 polymorphisms, serum gastrin-17 and pepsinogen I and II concentrations were determined, and gastroscopies with histopathological analyses were performed to 216 dyspeptic patients. As genotype controls, 179 controls and 61 gastric cancer patients were studied. In our study, the Toll-like receptor 4 +896 and +1196 polymorphisms were in total linkage disequilibrium. The homozygous wild types displayed higher gastrin-17 serum concentrations than the mutants (p = 0.001) and this effect was independent of Helicobacter pylori. The homozygous wild types also displayed an increased risk for peptic ulcers (OR: 4.390). Toll-like receptor 4 genotypes did not show any association with Helicobacter pylori positivity or the features of gastric inflammation. Toll-like receptor 4 expression was seen in gastrin and somatostatin expressing cells of antral mucosa by immunohistochemistry. Our results suggest a role for Toll-like receptor 4 in gastric acid regulation and that the Toll-like receptor 4 +896 and +1196 wild type homozygozity increases peptic ulcer risk via gastrin secretion.

Toll-interleukin-1 (Toll-IL-1) receptor signaling may play a key role in the development of airway hyperreactivity (AHR) and chronic airway inflammatory diseases such as asthma. Previously, we have demonstrated that pro-inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin......RNA expression following IL-1beta treatment. Immunohistochemistry confirmed that protein expression for CD14, RP105, MCP-1 and phosphorylated IkappaB-alpha were increased in both the airway epithelial and smooth muscle cells. In order to link the activation of Toll-IL-1 receptor-mediated inflammatory signal...... airway to IL-1beta induces up- and down-regulation of mRNA expression for Toll-IL-1 receptor signal molecules, with a significant increase in the expression of 16 genes that contribute to the development of airway inflammation and AHR. Understanding cytokine-induced activation of the Toll-IL-1 receptor...

Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) is responsible for the recognition of bacterial flagellin in vertebrates. In this study, we cloned the single-exon TLR5 gene of the Maya breed of Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna). The TLR5 open reading frame is 2580 bp in length and encodes an 859-amino acid protein. The putative amino acid sequence of duck TLR5 consisted of a signal peptide sequence, 11 leucine-rich repeat domains, a leucine-rich repeat C-terminal domain, a transmembrane domain, and an intracellular Toll-interleukin-1 receptor domain. The duck TLR5 gene was highly expressed in the lung, bone marrow, spleen, and liver; moderately expressed in kidney, small intestine, large intestine, and brain. A plasmid expressing duck TLR5 was constructed and transfected into HEK293T cells, and expression was confirmed by indirect immunofluorescence assay. HEK293T cells transfected with duck TLR5- and NF-κB-luciferase-containing plasmids significantly responded to flagellin from Salmonella typhimurium, indicating that it is a functional TLR5 homolog.

In the present study, we investigated the potential pathogenesis of coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3)-induced viral myocarditis and the promising protective effect of silencing RNA (small interfering RNA, siRNA). One hundred and twenty mice were included in the study, and 30 mice were intraperitoneally inoculated with CVB3 to establish an acute viral myocarditis model. The survival rate was observed for the CVB3-infected mouse model (MOD), and myocardial injury was examined by HE (hematoxylin and eosin) staining assay. Real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and Western blot assay were selected to detect the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression in myocardial tissues. The TLR4 gene was silenced for the MOD mice, and the effects of this treatment were observed. The results indicate that the expression of TLR4 mRNA and the protein significantly and persistently increased during the progression of CVB3-induced myocarditis. The activities of cardiac enzymes including CK, LDH, AST, and CK-MB were also enhanced in CVB3-induced myocardial tissues. Interestingly, when the TLR4 gene was silenced, the CVB3-induced TLR4 production was significantly decreased and the severity of myocarditis was significantly lessened. In conclusion, CVB3 may induce viral myocarditis by upregulating toll-like receptor 4 expression. The viral myocarditis can be ameliorated by silencing the TLR4 gene in the CVB3 viral myocarditis model, which may be a feasible therapeutic method for treatment of viral myocarditis.

Background. Leprosy is a debilitating infectious disease of human skin and nerves. Genetics factors of the host play an important role in the disease susceptibility. Toll-interacting protein (TOLLIP) is an inhibitory adaptor protein within the toll-like receptor (TLR) pathway, which recognizes structurally conserved molecular patterns of microbial pathogens, initiating immune responses. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of variants in the TOLLIP gene with susceptibility to leprosy in Mexican patients. Methods. TOLLIP polymorphisms were studied using a case-control design of Mexican patients with lepromatous leprosy (LL). The polymorphisms of TOLLIP at loci −526 C>G (rs5743854), 1309956C>T (rs3750920), 1298430C>A (rs5744015), and 1292831 G>A (rs3750919) were analyzed by PCR, with sequence-specific primers in LL patients and healthy subjects (HS) as controls. Results. Genotype distributions were in Hardy Weinberg equilibrium for all sites except for rs3750920. Neither genotype nor allele frequencies were statistically different between LL patients and controls (P > 0.05). The maximum pairwise D' coefficient reached was 0.44 of linkage (P = 0.01) for all the polymorphisms except for rs5743854. The three loci haplotype comparison yielded no significant differences between groups. Conclusions. Just the individuals with genotype C/C of rs3750920 have a trend of protective effect to developing LL. PMID:24294608

Full Text Available Background. Leprosy is a debilitating infectious disease of human skin and nerves. Genetics factors of the host play an important role in the disease susceptibility. Toll-interacting protein (TOLLIP is an inhibitory adaptor protein within the toll-like receptor (TLR pathway, which recognizes structurally conserved molecular patterns of microbial pathogens, initiating immune responses. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of variants in the TOLLIP gene with susceptibility to leprosy in Mexican patients. Methods. TOLLIP polymorphisms were studied using a case-control design of Mexican patients with lepromatous leprosy (LL. The polymorphisms of TOLLIP at loci −526 C>G (rs5743854, 1309956C>T (rs3750920, 1298430C>A (rs5744015, and 1292831 G>A (rs3750919 were analyzed by PCR, with sequence-specific primers in LL patients and healthy subjects (HS as controls. Results. Genotype distributions were in Hardy Weinberg equilibrium for all sites except for rs3750920. Neither genotype nor allele frequencies were statistically different between LL patients and controls (P>0.05. The maximum pairwise D’ coefficient reached was 0.44 of linkage (P=0.01 for all the polymorphisms except for rs5743854. The three loci haplotype comparison yielded no significant differences between groups. Conclusions. Just the individuals with genotype C/C of rs3750920 have a trend of protective effect to developing LL.

There is increasing recognition of the role of Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) in noninfectious inflammatory diseases, but the function of TLR3 in inflammatory skin diseases is unclear. We investigated the functions of TLR3 in allergic and irritant contact dermatitis (ICD). The contact hypersensitivity (CHS) response was lower in Toll-like receptor 3 knockout (Tlr3 KO) mice, and was greater in TLR3 transgenic (Tg) mice than in wild-type (WT) mice after challenge with 2,4,6-trinitro-1-chlorobenzene. Adoptive transfer of immunized lymph node cells from Tlr3 KO mice induced CHS in WT recipients. In contrast, adoptive transfer of those from WT mice did not fully induce CHS in Tlr3 KO recipients. The ICD reaction following croton oil application was lower in Tlr3 KO mice, and was greater in TLR3 Tg mice than in WT mice. Maturation, migration, and antigen presentation of dendritic cells and proliferation of lymphocytes between WT mice and Tlr3 KO mice were comparable. These results show that TLR3 enhances antigen-independent skin inflammation in the elicitation phase of allergic contact dermatitis and in ICD.

American football has unequivocally been linked to elevations in blood pressure and hypertension, especially in linemen. However, the mechanisms of this increase cannot be attributed solely to increased body weight and associated cardiometabolic risk factors (e.g.,dyslipidemia or hyperglycemia). Therefore, understanding the etiology of football-associated hypertension is essential for improving the quality of life in this mostly young population, as well as for lowering the potential for chronic disease in the future. We propose that inflammatogenic damage–associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) released into the circulation from football-induced musculoskeletal trauma activate pattern-recognition receptors of the innate immune system—specifically, high mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) and mitochondrial (mt)DNA which activate Toll-like receptor (TLR)4 and -9, respectively. Previously, we observed that circulating levels of these 2 DAMPs are increased in hypertension, and activation of TLR4 and -9 causes endothelial dysfunction and hypertension. Therefore, our novel hypothesis is that musculoskeletal injury from repeated hits in football players, particularly in linemen, leads to elevated circulating HMGB1 and mtDNA to activate TLRs on endothelial cells leading to impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation, increased vascular tone, and hypertension.—McCarthy, C. G., Webb, R. C. The toll of the gridiron: damage-associated molecular patterns and hypertension in American football. PMID:26316270

Pathogens can find their ways to most sites in the host. Pathogen sensors, such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs), must be equally and broadly distributed on immune cells to combat them through innate and adaptive immunity. Most classes of TLRs are found in innate immune cells to obtain an immediate re-sponse against pathogens, but recent studies indicate that a number of TLRs are wildly expressed in T and B cells, suggesting TLRs also directly regulate adaptive immune responses. Due to the rapid in-crease of new information on the multiple roles of TLRs, in this paper we aim to review several main properties of TLRs and their direct role in T and B cells. This review consists of 6 parts: (ⅰ) Characteris-tics of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and signaling; (ⅱ) signalling pathways of TLRs; (ⅲ) TLR expressions on human leukocytes; (ⅳ) TLR expressions and functions in the Th1, CD4+CD45RO+ memory T cells and regulatory/suppressor T as well as B cell populations; (ⅴ) therapeutic potential of TLR agonists; (ⅵ) discussion and perspective. The latest findings and potential therapeutic applications are discussed. There is growing evidence supporting the concept that TLR activation contributes not only to innate immunity but also to adaptive immunity, including direct regulation of both T and B lymphocytes by TLRs.

Full Text Available Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs expressed on immune cells are crucial for the early detection of invading pathogens, in initiating early innate immune response and in orchestrating the adaptive immune response. PRRs are activated by specific pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs that are present in pathogenic microbes or nucleic acids of viruses or bacteria. However, inappropriate activation of these PRRs, such as the Toll-like receptors (TLRs, due to genetic lesions or chronic inflammation has been demonstrated to be a major cause of many haematological malignancies. Gain-of-function mutations in the TLR adaptor protein MYD88 found in 39% of the activated B cell type of diffuse large B cell lymphomas (ABC-DLBCL and almost 100% of Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia (WM further highlight the involvement of TLRs in these malignancies. MYD88 mutations result in the chronic activation of TLR signalling pathways, thus the constitutive activation of the transcription factor NFκB to promote cell survival and proliferation. These recent insights into TLR pathway driven malignancies warrant the need for a better understanding of TLRs in cancers and the development of novel anti-cancer therapies targeting TLRs. This review focuses on Toll-like receptors function and signalling in normal or inflammatory conditions, and how mutations can also hijack the TLR signalling pathways to give rise to cancer. Lastly, we discuss how potential therapeutic agents could be used to restore normal responses to TLRs and have long lasting anti-tumour effects.

High titers of autoantibodies reactive with DNA/RNA molecular complexes are characteristic of autoimmune disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In vitro and in vivo studies have implicated the endosomal Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) and Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) in the activation of the corresponding autoantibody producing B cells. Importantly, TLR9/TLR7-deficiency results in the inability of autoreactive B cells to proliferate in response to DNA/RNA-associated autoantigens in vitro, and in marked changes in the autoantibody repertoire of autoimmune-prone mice. Uptake of DNA/RNA-associated autoantigen immune complexes (ICs) also leads to activation of dendritic cells (DCs) through TLR9 and TLR7. The initial studies from our lab involved ICs formed by a mixture of autoantibodies and cell debris released from dying cells in culture. To better understand the nature of the mammalian ligands that can effectively activate TLR7 and TLR9, we have developed a methodology for preparing ICs containing defined DNA fragments that recapitulate the immunostimulatory activity of the previous "black box" ICs. As the endosomal TLR7 and TLR9 function optimally from intracellular acidic compartments, we developed a facile methodology to monitor the trafficking of defined DNA ICs by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. These reagents reveal an important role for nucleic acid sequence, even when the ligand is mammalian DNA and will help illuminate the role of IC trafficking in the response.

The discovery of Toll-like receptors has substantially changed our knowledge of pathogen recognition. 11 Toll-like receptors have so far been described in humans. These recognize distinct pathogen associated molecular patterns, as well as endogenous ligands and small molecular synthetic compounds. TLRs have a multifunctional role in pathogen-triggered immune responses and represent an important connection between the "innate" and "adaptive" immunity. The role of the TLRs in the recognition of pathogens renders them a key figure in the activation of the immune response during surgical sepsis. However, emerging evidence points to a fundamental role in tumorigenesis, transplantation, wound healing, atherogenesis and inflammatory bowel disease. The aim hence was to review experimental data pertaining to the activation of TLR signalling pathways in conditions associated with surgical sepsis. A systematic review of the literature was undertaken by searching the MEDLINE database for the period 1966-2004 without language restriction. The paper also analyses the possible therapeutic utilization of the TLR signalling pathways in surgical sepsis.

Full Text Available Zhiwei Gao1, Donna C Rennie2, Ambikaipakan Senthilselvan11Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; 2College of Nursing and Canadian Centre for Health and Agricultural Safety, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CanadaAbstract: Allergic rhinitis represents a global health issue affecting 10% to 25% of the population worldwide. Over the years, studies have found that allergic diseases, including allergic rhinitis, are associated with immunological responses to antigens driven by a Th2-mediated immune response. Because Toll-like receptors (TLRs are involved in both innate and adaptive immune responses to a broad variety of antigens, the association between polymorphisms of TLRs and allergic diseases has been the focus in many animal and human studies. Although the etiology of allergic rhinitis is still unknown, extensive research over the years has confirmed that the underlying causes of allergic diseases are due to many genetic and environmental factors, along with the interactions among them, which include gene–environment, gene–gene, and environment–environment interactions. Currently, there is great inconsistency among studies mainly due to differences in genetic background and unique gene–environment interactions. This paper reviews studies focusing on the association between TLR polymorphisms and allergic diseases, including allergic rhinitis, which would help researchers better understand the role of TLR polymorphisms in the development of allergic rhinitis, and ultimately lead to more efficient therapeutic interventions being developed.Keywords: allergic rhinitis, allergic diseases, Toll-like receptors

Full Text Available Innate immune responses are essential for controlling poxvirus infection. The threat of a bioterrorist attack using Variola major, the smallpox virus, or zoonotic transmission of other poxviruses has renewed interest in understanding interactions between these viruses and their hosts. We recently determined that TLR3 regulates a detrimental innate immune response that enhances replication, morbidity, and mortality in mice in response to vaccinia virus, a model pathogen for studies of poxviruses. To further investigate Toll-like receptor signaling in vaccinia infection, we first focused on TRIF, the only known adapter protein for TLR3. Unexpectedly, bioluminescence imaging showed that mice lacking TRIF are more susceptible to vaccinia infection than wild-type mice. We then focused on TLR4, the other Toll-like receptor that signals through TRIF. Following respiratory infection with vaccinia, mice lacking TLR4 signaling had greater viral replication, hypothermia, and mortality than control animals. The mechanism of TLR4-mediated protection was not due to increased release of proinflammatory cytokines or changes in total numbers of immune cells recruited to the lung. Challenge of primary bone marrow macrophages isolated from TLR4 mutant and control mice suggested that TLR4 recognizes a viral ligand rather than an endogenous ligand. These data establish that TLR4 mediates a protective innate immune response against vaccinia virus, which informs development of new vaccines and therapeutic agents targeted against poxviruses.

Full Text Available The condition of Zimbabwe's roads has been declining due to insufficient maintenance and rehabilitation. Year on year, budget allocations have compared unfavourably with funding considered adequate to maintain highway networks and conduct modest construction work. Road infrastructure shortcomings have manifested themselves in the form of high vehicle operating costs and rampant potholes, leading to a decline in road safety and a deterioration of service levels for those who use roads to deliver goods or connect to international markets. In order to try and stop this vicious cycle of decline, the Government of Zimbabwe, on 8 August 2009, introduced a new policy of road-user charges, which involved the setting-up of 22 toll gates on the trunk road network. The overall objective was to raise revenue in order to close the funding gap, blamed for declining road quality. Although alternative methods of financing road maintenance have been debated for years, a generally accepted understanding is that road users should pay costs for road provisioning. This paper assesses the implementation of a road tolling system in Zimbabwe and describes matters relating to, inter alia, implementation strategy, initial performance outcomes and sustainability.

The toll-like receptors (TLRs) are the sentinel factor of the innate immunity, which are essential for host defense. These receptors detect the presence of conserved molecular patterns of potentially pathogenic microorganisms and contribute in both, cellular as well as humoral immune responses. Leishmania is an intracellular pathogen that silently invades host immune system. After phagocytosis, it divides and proliferates in the harmful environment of host macrophages by down-regulating its vital effector functions. In leishmaniasis, the outcome of the infection basically relies on the skewed balance between Th1/Th2 immune responses. Lots of work have been done and on progress but still characterization of either preventive or prophylactic candidate antigen/s is far from satisfactory. How does Leishmania regulate host innate immune system? Still it is unanswered. TLRs play very important role during inflammatory process of various diseases such as cancer, bacterial and viral infections but TLR signaling is comparatively less explained in leishmanial infection. In the context to Th1/Th2 dichotomy, identification of leishmanial antigens that modulate toll-like receptor signaling will certainly help in the development of future vaccine. This review will initially describe global properties of TLRs, and later will discuss their role in the pathogenesis of leishmaniasis.

Full Text Available Asthma as a chronic inflammatory airway disease is considered to be the most common chronic disease that is involving genetic and environmental factors. Toll like receptors (TLRs and other inflammatory mediators are important in modulation of inflammation. In this study, we evaluated the role of TLR2 Arg753Gln and TLR4 Asp299Gly polymorphisms in the asthma susceptibility, progress, control levels and lung functions in Iranian patients. On 99 asthmatic patients and 120 normal subjects, TLR2 Arg753Gln and TLR4 Asp299Gly polymorphisms were evaluated by PCR-RFLP method recruiting Msp1 and Nco1 restriction enzymes, respectively. IgE serum levels by ELISA technique were determined and asthma diagnosis, treatment and control levels were considered using standard schemes and criteria. Our results indicated that the genotype and allele frequencies of the TLR2 Arg753Gln and TLR4 Asp299Gly polymorphisms were not significantly different between control subjects and asthmatics and were not related to in asthma features such as IgE levels, asthma history and pulmonary factors. Wherease some previous studies indicated TLRs and their polymorphisms might have some role in asthma incidence and features, our data demonstrated that TLR2 Arg753Gln and TLR4 Asp299Gly gene variants were not risk factors for asthma or its features in Iranian patients. Genetic complexity, ethnicity, influence of other genes or polymorphisms may overcome these polymorphisms in our asthmatics.

Background: Activation of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathway through TLR4 may be important in the induction of protective immunity against Bordetella pertussis with TLR4-mediated activation of dendritic and B cells, induction of cytokine expression, and reversal of tolerance as crucial s

We hypothesized that expression of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 2 and 4 by tenocytes is involved in the catabolic processes of tendon degeneration. We investigated TLR2 and TLR4 expression by tenocytes in healthy and tendinotic Achilles tendons. We also investigated whether TLR2 and TLR4 could be upre

The Toll/Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathway has an important role in the innate immunity of animals. Evolutionarily conserved signaling intermediate in Toll pathways (ECSIT) is a protein that functions as an adaptor protein for the Toll/TLR and bone morphogenetic protein signaling pathways. ECSIT is also a key component in the macrophage bactericidal activity of mammals. However, the function of ECSIT in crustaceans remains unclear. In this study, we cloned and identified a functional ECSIT homologue, MjECSIT 1, from kuruma shrimp Marsupenaeus japonicus. The complementary DNA of MjEcsit 1 is 1442 base pairs long, with an open reading frame of 1221 base pairs that encodes a 407-residue polypeptide. Transcripts of MjEcsit 1 are detected in hemocytes, gills, hepatopancreas, stomach, heart, intestines, testes, and ovaries. Such transcripts are upregulated by Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Vibrio anguillarum) injections. The knockdown of MjEcsit 1 by double-stranded RNA injection increases the sensitivity of M. japonicus to S. aureus challenge and weakens the bacterial clearance ability of M. japonicus in vivo. In addition, suppressing MjEcsit 1 restrains the upregulation of two anti-lipopolysaccharide factors by S. aureus injection. The results indicate that MjECSIT 1 is important in the antibacterial immunity of M. japonicus.

Dubbed the ＂＇Golden Week,＂ the National Day holiday （normally October 1-7） is a traditional peak travel period for many Chinese who hit the road. But this year＇s holiday was different from years past： most motorists across the country were exempt from paying toll fees.

The Drosophila Toll-signaling pathway controls the systemic antifungal host response. Gram-negative binding protein 3 (GNBP3), a member of the beta-glucan recognition protein family senses fungal infections and activates this pathway. A second detection system perceives the activity of proteolytic f

BACKGROUND: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a central role in the innate immune response to complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSIs), with TLR10 being the first family member known to have an inhibitory function. This study assessed the role of TLR10 in recognition of cSSSI-related pa

In this paper, we investigate the impact of travel costs, in particular toll costs, on the residential location choice of households, using a stated choice survey. Within the stated choice experiment, car drivers that frequently face traffic congestion, traded-off several trip-related (including

Streptococcus infection in human populations continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality. To evaluate the effect of genetic background and toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) on antibacterial defense to streptococcal infection, eight genetically diverse strains of mic...

Genetic algorithms (GAs) are widely accepted by researchers as a method of solving multi-objective optimization problems (MOPs), at least for listing a high quality approximation of the Pareto front of a MOP. In traffic management, it has been long established that tolls can be used to optimally

Genetic algorithms (GAs) are widely accepted by researchers as a method of solving multi-objective optimization problems (MOPs), at least for listing a high quality approximation of the Pareto front of a MOP. In traffic management, it has been long established that tolls can be used to optimally

Upon the invasion of the host by microorganisms, innate immunity is triggered through pathogen recognition by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are the best-studied class of PRRs, and they recognize specific pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) from various m

Synovial tissue of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) spontaneously produces several cytokines, of which a fundamental role in joint inflammation and destruction has been established. However, the factors sustaining this phenomenon remain poorly understood. In a recent report, blockade of Toll-

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are fundamental components of innate immunity that play significant roles in the defence against pathogen invasion. In this study, we present the molecular characterization of the full-length coding sequence of tlr1, tlr2a and tlr2b from common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Each

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are fundamental components of innate immunity that play significant roles in the defence against pathogen invasion. In this study, we present the molecular characterization of the full-length coding sequence of tlr1, tlr2a and tlr2b from common carp (Cyprinus carpio).

Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR4 play a pivotal role in recognition of Candida albicans. We demonstrate that TLR2(-/-) mice are more resistant to disseminated Candida infection, and this is associated with increased chemotaxis and enhanced candidacidal capacity of TLR2(-/-) macrophages. Although

Genetic algorithms (GAs) are widely accepted by researchers as a method of solving multi-objective optimization problems (MOPs), at least for listing a high quality approximation of the Pareto front of a MOP. In traffic management, it has been long established that tolls can be used to optimally dis

textabstractBackground: Sepsis and subsequent multiple-organ failure are the predominant causes of late mortality in trauma patients. Susceptibility and response to infection is, in part, heritable. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Toll-like receptor (TLR) and cluster of differentiation 14

Toll-like receptors (TLRs), as the most important pattern recognition receptors in innate immunity, play a pivotal role in inducing immune response through recognition of microbial invaders or specific agonists. Recent studies have suggested that TLRs could serve as important regulators in the development of a variety of cancer. However, increasing evidences have shown that TLRs may display quite opposite outcomes in cancer development. Although several potential therapeutic Toll-like receptor ligands have been found, the mechanism and therapy prospect of TLRs in cancer development has to be further elucidated to accelerate the clinical application. By performing a systematic review of the present findings on TLRs in cancer immunology, we attempted to evaluate the therapeutic potential of TLRs in cancer therapy and elucidate the potential mechanism of cancer progress regulated by TLR signaling and the reported targets on TLRs for clinical application. An electronic databases search was conducted in PubMed, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database from their inception to February 1, 2016. The following keywords were used to search the databases: Toll-like receptors, cancer therapy, therapeutic target, innate immunity. Of 244 studies that were identified, 97 nonrelevant studies were excluded. In total, 147 full-text articles were assessed, and from these, 54 were excluded as they did not provide complete key information. Thus, 93 studies were considered eligible and included in the analysis. According to the data from the included trials, 14 TLR ligands (77.8%) from 82 studies have been demonstrated to display antitumor property in various cancers, whereas 4 ligands (22.2%) from 11 studies promote tumors. Among them, only 3 TLR ligands have been approved for cancer therapy, and 9 ligands were in clinical trials. In addition, the potential mechanism of recently reported targets on TLRs for clinical application was also evaluated

Streamwater and solid samples (rock, unconsolidated sediment, stream sediment, and efflorescent material) in the Toll Gate Creek watershed, Colorado, were collected and analyzed for major and trace elements to determine trace-element concentrations and stream loads from December 2003 through March 2004, a period of seasonally low flow. Special emphasis was given to selenium (Se) concentrations because historic Se concentrations exceeded current (2004) stream standards. The goal of the project was to assess the distribution of Se concentration and loads in Toll Gate Creek and to determine the potential for rock and unconsolidated sediment in the basin to be sources of Se to the streamwater. Streamwater samples and discharge measurements were collected during December 2003 and March 2004 along Toll Gate Creek and its two primary tributaries - West Toll Gate Creek and East Toll Gate Creek. During both sampling periods, discharge ranged from 2.5 liters per second to 138 liters per second in the watershed. Discharge was greater in March 2004 than December 2003, but both periods represent low flow in Toll Gate Creek, and results of this study should not be extended to periods of higher flow. Discharge decreased moving downstream in East Toll Gate Creek but increased moving downstream along West Toll Gate Creek and the main stem of Toll Gate Creek, indicating that these two streams gain flow from ground water. Se concentrations in streamwater samples ranged from 7 to 70 micrograms per liter, were elevated in the upstream-most samples, and were greater than the State stream standard of 4.6 micrograms per liter. Se loads ranged from 6 grams per day to 250 grams per day, decreased in a downstream direction along East Toll Gate Creek, and increased in a downstream direction along West Toll Gate Creek and Toll Gate Creek. The largest Se-load increases occurred between two sampling locations on West Toll Gate Creek during both sampling periods and between the two sampling

Murine models of red blood cell transfusion show that inflammation associated with viruses or methylated DNA promotes red blood cell alloimmunization. In vaccination studies, the intensity of antigen-specific responses depends on the delay between antigen and adjuvant administration, with a short delay limiting immune responses. In mouse models of alloimmunization, the delay between the injection of Toll-like receptor agonists and transfusion is usually short. In this study, we hypothesized that the timing of Toll-like receptor 3 agonist administration affects red blood cell alloimmunization. Poly(I:C), a Toll-like receptor 3 agonist, was administered to B10BR mice at various time points before the transfusion of HEL-expressing red blood cells. For each time point, we measured the activation of splenic HEL-presenting dendritic cells, HEL-specific CD4(+) T cells and anti-HEL antibodies in serum. The phenotype of activated immune cells depended on the delay between transfusion and Toll-like receptor-dependent inflammation. The production of anti-HEL antibodies was highest when transfusion occurred 7 days after agonist injection. The proportion of HEL-presenting CD8α(+) dendritic cells producing interleukin-12 was highest in mice injected with poly(I:C) 3 days before transfusion. Although the number of early-induced HEL-specific CD4(+) T cells was similar between groups, a high proportion of these cells expressed CD134, CD40 and CD44 in mice injected with poly(I:C) 7 days before transfusion. This study clearly shows that the delay between transfusion and Toll-like receptor-induced inflammation influences the immune response to transfused red blood cells.

Full Text Available The Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2 gene of old world camels (Camelus dromedarius and Camelus bactrianus was cloned and sequenced. The TLR2 gene of the dromedary camel had the highest nucleotide and amino acid identity with pig, i.e., 66.8% and 59.6%, respectively. Similarly, the TLR2 gene of the Bactrian camel also had the highest nucleotide and amino acid identity with pig, i.e., 85.7% and 81.4%, respectively. Dromedary and Bactrian camels shared 77.9% nucleotide and 73.6% amino acid identity with each other. Interestingly, the amidation motif is present in camel (Dromedary and Bactrian TLR2 only, and the TIR domain is absent in Dromedary camel TLR2. This is the first report of the TLR2 gene sequence of Dromedary and Bactrian camels.

Full Text Available Genetic association studies of leprosy cohorts across the world have identified numerous polymorphisms which alter susceptibility and outcome to infection with Mycobacterium leprae. As expected, many of the polymorphisms reside within genes that encode components of the innate and adaptive immune system. Despite the preponderance of these studies, our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie these genetic associations remains sparse. Toll-like receptors (TLRs have emerged as an essential family of innate immune pattern recognition receptors which play a pivotal role in host defense against microbes, including pathogenic strains of mycobacteria. This paper will highlight studies which have uncovered the association of specific TLR gene polymorphisms with leprosy or tuberculosis: two important diseases resulting from mycobacterial infection. This analysis will focus on the potential influence these polymorphic variants have on TLR expression and function and how altered TLR recognition or signaling may contribute to successful antimycobacterial immunity.

Altered neonatal Toll-like receptor (TLR) function is hypothesized to contribute to the heightened susceptibility to infection and perpetuated inflammation in term and preterm neonates, clinically evident in neonatal sepsis and increased rates of inflammatory disorders. Current data indicate that basal TLR expression in term neonates equals adult expression patterns, while expression in preterm infants seems to increase, depending on gestational age. Regarding TLR signaling, some studies suggest TLR incompetence in neonates associated with impaired pro-inflammatory responses, others describe neonatal TLR function well developed and allude to its hyper-inflammation tendency. We discuss the competing positions and considerable limitations of research approaches and conclude that neonatal innate immunity is not generally less able to respond to TLR stimulation. Moreover, we describe pre-conditioning factors other than immaturity having a comparable impact. In the long term, better understanding of the complex interplay of pre- and postnatal conditions and maturation-dependent neonatal TLR function may provide new therapeutic approaches.

Full Text Available Periodontal disease is the major cause of adult tooth loss and is commonly characterized by a chronic inflammation caused by infection by oral bacteria. Members of Toll-like receptor (TLR family recognize conserved microbial structures, such as bacterial lipopolysaccharides, and activate signaling pathways that result in immune responses against microbial infections. The aim of the present study was to assess the mRNA expression of TLR-2 and TLR-4 in gingivitis and chronic periodontitis. Gingival tissue samples were collected from patients with chronic periodontitis, gingivitis, and healthy controls. Total RNA was extracted and RT-PCR was done for TLR-2 and TLR-4. The results showed that TLR-2 was significantly increased in gingivitis compared to TLR-4 expression and decreased in chronic periodontitis.

Acinetobacter baumannii is a common nosocomial pathogen capable of causing severe diseases associated with significant morbidity and mortality in impaired hosts. Pattern recognition receptors, such as the Toll-like receptors (TLRs), play a key role in pathogen detection and function to alert the immune system to infection. Here, we examine the role for TLR9 signaling in response to A. baumannii infection. In a murine model of A. baumannii pneumonia, TLR9(-/-) mice exhibit significantly increased bacterial burdens in the lungs, increased extrapulmonary bacterial dissemination, and more severe lung pathology compared with those in wild-type mice. Following systemic A. baumannii infection, TLR9(-/-) mice have significantly increased bacterial burdens in the lungs, as well as decreased proinflammatory cytokine and chemokine production. These results demonstrate that TLR9-mediated pathogen detection is important for host defense against the opportunistic pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii.

Full Text Available U.S. officials have recently claimed that the CIA has sharply reduced the number of civilian casualties resulting from covert Predator and Reaper drone strikes in the Taliban-controlled agencies of Northwest Pakistan. Critics, especially in Pakistan, along with human rights NGOs have, however, questioned these claims. This article examines independent databases tracking the drone strikes and finds that there is significant support for the U.S. officials’ claims, or at least for their more moderate assertions. It also briefly reviews the explanations that have been offered for the declining civilian death toll from drone strikes. It shows that there is reason to believe that this development is the deliberate result of adjustments to CIA targeting procedures and improvements in spy networks and technology, and thus is likely to prove broadly sustainable at least for the immediate future.

Full Text Available A close relationship exists between gut microbiota and immune responses. An imbalance of this relationship can determine local and systemic immune diseases. In fact the immune system plays an essential role in maintaining the homeostasis with the microbiota that normally resides in the gut, while, at the same time, the gut microbiota influences the immune system, modulating number and function of effector and regulatory T cells. To achieve this aim, mutual regulation between immune system and microbiota is achieved through several mechanisms, including the engagement of toll-like receptors (TLRs, pathogen-specific receptors expressed on numerous cell types. TLRs are able to recognize ligands from commensal or pathogen microbiota to maintain the tolerance or trigger the immune response. In this review, we summarize the latest evidences about the role of TLRs expressed in adaptive T cells, to understand how the immune system promotes intestinal homeostasis, fights invasion by pathogens, and is modulated by the intestinal microbiota.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the major causes of liver diseases, affecting more than 350 million people worldwide. The interferon (IFN)-mediated innate immune responses could restrict HBV replication at the different steps of viral life cycle. Indeed, IFN-α has been successfully used for treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B. However, the role of the innate immune response in HBV replication and the mechanism of the anti-HBV effect of IFN-α are not completely explored. In this review, we summarized the currently available knowledge about the IFN-mediated anti-HBV effect in the HBV life cycle and the possible effectors downstream the IFN signaling pathway. The antiviral effect of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in HBV replication is briefly discussed. The strategies exploited by HBV to evade the IFN- and TLR-mediated antiviral actions are summarized.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) recognize distinct microbial components to initiate the innate and adaptive immune responses. TLR activation culminates in the expression of appropriate pro-inflammatory and immunomodulatory factors to meet pathogenic challenges. The transcription factor NF-κB is the master regulator of all TLR-induced responses and its activation is the pivotal event in TLR-mediated activation of the innate immune response. Many of the key molecular events required for TLR-induced NF-κB activation have been elucidated. However, much remain to be learned about the ability of TLRs to generate pathogen-specific responses using a limited number of transcription factors. This review will focus on our current understanding of NF-κB activation by TLRs and potential mechanisms for achieving a signal-specific response through NF-κB.

For centuries, natural products and their derivatives have provided a rich source of compounds for the development of new immunotherapies in the treatment of human disease. Many of these compounds are currently undergoing clinical trials, particularly as anti-oxidative, anti-microbial, and anti-cancer agents. However, the function and mechanism of natural products in how they interact with our immune system has yet to be extensively explored. Natural immune modulators may provide the key to control and ultimately defeat disorders affecting the immune system. They can either up- or down-regulate the immune response with few undesired adverse effects. In this review, we summarize the recent advancements made in utilizing natural products for immunomodulation and their important molecular targets, members of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family, in the innate immune system.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) have launched the free, web-based Transportation Secure Data Center (TSDC). The TSDC (www.nrel.gov/tsdc) preserves respondent anonymity while making vital transportation data available to a broad group of users through secure, online access. The TSDC database provides free-of-charge web-based access to valuable transportation data that can be used for: Location and time-of-day variable tolling research, Mileage-based fee analysis, Travel demand modeling and transit planning, Congestion mitigation research, and Validating transportation data from other sources. The TSDC's two levels of access make composite data available with simple online registration, and allow researchers to use detailed spatial data after completing a straight forward application process.

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are chronic relapsing-remitting inflammatory processes of the intestinaf tract.The etiology of these diseases is currently unknown.However,inflammation is hypothesized to result from inappropriate activation of mucosal immunity luminal antigens in genetically susceptible individuals.Toll-like receptors(TLRs)are a family of transmembrane proteins that act as microbial pattern recognition receptors.They are crucial initiators of innate immune responses.The role of TLRs in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)has not been fully elucidated.In this review,we aim to analyze the available data connecting individual TLRs to intestinal inflammation and IBD.(C)2008 The WJG Press.All rights reserved.

Adrenal gland insufficiency - the clinical manifestation of deficient production or action of adrenal steroids - is a life-threatening disorder. Among many factors which can predispose to primary adrenal failure, an autoimmune adrenalitis and infectious agents play a major role. The initial host defense against bacterial infections is executed primarily by the pattern recognition receptors, e.g. Toll-like receptors (TLRs), expressed in cells from the innate immune system. Upon activation, TLRs have been found to regulate various levels of innate and adaptive immunity as well as control tissue inflammation. TLRs are implicated in adrenal cell turnover and steroidogenesis during inflammation. Therefore, TLRs play a crucial role in the activation of adrenal inflammation mediating adrenal gland dysfunction during septicemia.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are important for recognizing a variety of pathogens, including protozoan parasites, and initiating innate immune responses against them. TLRs are localized on the cell surface as well as in the endosome, and are implicated in innate sensing of these parasites. In this review, we will discuss recent findings on the identification of parasite-derived pathogen associated molecular patterns and the TLRs that bind them. The role of these TLRs in initiating the immune response against protozoan parasitic infections in vivo will be presented in the context of murine models of infection utilizing TLR-deficient mice. Additionally, we will explore evidence that TLRs and genetic variants of TLRs may impact the outcome of these parasitic infections in humans.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a central component of innate immune system and play a major role as the initiator of the innate immune responses to defend against bacteria, viruses, parasite and other pathogens. During malaria infection, TLRs signaling pathways are initialed with the recognition of Plasmodium glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPI) and hemozoin as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). And then, activation of TLRs signaling induces specific biological responses against malaria parasites invasion. However, TLRs are also involved in malaria pathogenesis and enhancement of immune tolerance and evasion for malaria infection. Moreover, malaria parasites regulate selectively TLRs expression on immune cells.Thus, these evidences indicated that TLRs have contrary roles on malaria infection. Understanding the complicated roles of TLRs on malaria infection will contribute us to design more effective anti-malaria drugs or vaccines.

Differential viral recognition by cells bearing Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) polymorphisms Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile may influence susceptibility and severity of dengue virus infection. In central Java, Indonesia, we investigated 201 children with dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and 179 healthy controls. Patients and controls were mostly ethnic Javanese. A nearly complete cosegregation of the two mutations was observed. The TLR4 299/399 genotype was found in five patients and four controls. Prevalence of the TLR4 299/399 genotype did not differ significantly between controls and DHF patients or between patients with different severities of DHF. Also, vascular leakage in patients with different TLR4 genotypes did not differ. Thus, the 299/399 TLR4 haplotype has only minor influence on susceptibility and severity of complicated dengue virus infection.

Full Text Available Cancer immunotherapy has been the focus of intense research since the late 19th century when Coley observed that bacterial components can contribute to cancer regression by eliciting an antitumor immune response. Successful activation and maturation of tumor-specific immune cells is now known to be mediated by bacterial endotoxin, which activates Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4. TLR4 is expressed on a variety of immune as well as tumor cells, but its activation can have opposing effects. While TLR4 activation can promote antitumor immunity, it can also result in increased tumor growth and immunosuppression. Nevertheless, TLR4 engagement by endotoxin as well as by endogenous ligands represents notable contribution to the outcome of different cancer treatments, such as radiation or chemotherapy. Further research of the role and mechanisms of TLR4 activation in cancer may provide novel antitumor vaccine adjuvants as well as TLR4 inhibitors that could prevent inflammation-induced carcinogenesis.

Stimulation of toll-like receptor (TLR)9 activates human plasmacytoid dendritic cells and B cells, and induces potent innate immune responses in preclinical tumor models and in patients. CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) are TLR9 agonists that show promising results as vaccine adjuvants and in the treatment of cancers, infections, asthma and allergy. PF-3512676 (ProMune) was developed as a TLR9 agonist for the treatment of cancer as monotherapy and as an adjuvant in combination with chemo- and immunotherapy. Phase I and II trials have tested this drug in several hematopoietic and solid tumors. Pfizer has initiated Phase III trials to test PF-3512676 in combination with standard chemotherapy for non-small-cell lung cancer.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) form a family of pattern recognition receptors that have emerged as key mediators of innate immunity. These receptors sense invading microbes and initiate the immune response. TLR-mediated inflammation is an important pathogenic link between innate immunity and a diverse panel of clinical disorders. Among the processes in which TLRs play a role are cardiovascular disorders such as cardiac ischaemia, coronary artery disease, ventricular remodelling, cancer angiogenesis or transplant rejection. From these, many important opportunities for disease modification through TLR signalling manipulation can be imagined. Their role as potential targets for therapeutic intervention is just beginning to be appreciated and this article reviews the current status of these treatment strategies for cardiovascular disease.

Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) is a risk factor for adverse cardiovascular events; however, the mechanism for development of this disease is still unknown. Toll-like receptor 4 (TRL4) is a molecule involved in the immune response pathway and is quickly becoming a receptor of interest in the field of hypertension. In this study, we hypothesized that ablation of TLR4 mitigates cardiac mitochondrial dysfunction in a model of HHcy. Five strains of mice (C57BL/6J, CBS(+/-), C3H, CBS(+/-)/C3H, and C3H/HeOuJ) 10-12 weeks old were utilized. We found that HHcy causes heart hypertrophy and promotes oxidative stress while mice with HHcy and inactivated TLR4 showed significant improvement in examined parameters. A dominance of endothelial cell mitochondrial fission over mitochondrial fusion in HHcy and oxidative stress was observed, which may explain the endothelial cell loss and dysfunction that contributes to inward cardiac remodeling.

Despite recent medical advances, atherosclerosis is a global burden accounting for numerous deaths and hospital admissions. Immune-mediated inflammation is a major component of the atherosclerotic process, but earlier research focus on adaptive immunity has gradually switched towards the role...... of innate immunity. The complement system and toll-like receptors (TLRs), and the crosstalk between them, may be of particular interest both with respect to pathogenesis and as therapeutic targets in atherosclerosis. Animal studies indicate that inhibition of C3a and C5a reduces atherosclerosis. In humans...... modified LDL-cholesterol activate complement and TLRs leading to downstream inflammation, and histopathological studies indicate that the innate immune system is present in atherosclerotic lesions. Moreover, clinical studies have demonstrated that both complement and TLRs are upregulated in atherosclerotic...

Full Text Available Toll-like receptors (TLRs are a class of pattern recognition receptors that play a bridging role in innate immunity and adaptive immunity. The activated TLRs not only induce inflammatory responses, but also elicit the development of antigen specific immunity. TLR7, a member of TLR family, is an intracellular receptor expressed on the membrane of endosomes. TLR7 can be triggered not only by ssRNA during viral infections, but also by immune modifiers that share a similar structure to nucleosides. Its powerful immune stimulatory action can be potentially used in the anti-tumor therapy. This article reviewed the anti-tumor activity and mechanism of TLR7 agonists that are frequently applied in preclinical and clinical investigations, and mainly focused on small synthetic molecules, including imiquimod, resiquimod, gardiquimod, and 852A, etc.

Full Text Available Toll-like receptors (TLRs are a pivotal part of our innate immune response. They recognize a wide variety of pathogens and instigate an immune response, thus facilitating the removal of the disease-causing agent. Due to the intense nature of this response its strict control is of keyimportance, as a prolonged inflammatory signal leads to carcinogenesis and autoimmune disorders. The signaling cascade initiated by the activated TLR is complex and consists of multiple stages. It involves a variety of adaptor proteins, protein kinases and effector transcription factors. The number of stages in this process enables many possible checkpoints and ways of regulation. Signal modulation involves differentiated expression of TLRs, splicing variants of their adaptorproteins, enzymes modifying proteins engaged in the cascade and many more. This review focuses on endogenous factors responsible for controlling the TLR-dependent inflammatory response as well as on pharmacological therapies designed for regulating the innate immune response.

Full Text Available Food allergy, other adverse immune responses to foods, inflammatory bowel disease, and eosinophilic esophagitis have become increasingly common in the last 30 years. It has been proposed in the “hygiene hypothesis” that dysregulated immune responses to environmental microbial stimuli may modify the balance between tolerance and sensitization in some patients. Of the pattern recognition receptors that respond to microbial signals, toll-like receptors (TLRs represent the most investigated group. The relationship between allergy and TLR activation is currently at the frontier of immunology research. Although TLR2 is abundant in the mucosal environment, little is known about the complex relationship between bystander TLR2 activation by the commensal microflora and the processing of oral antigens. This review focuses on recent advances in our understanding of the relationship between TLR2 and oral tolerance, with an emphasis on regulatory T cells, eosinophils, B cells, IgA, intestinal regulation, and commensal microbes.

Full Text Available The genome of the purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, was the first to be sequenced from a long-lived large invertebrate. Analysis of this genome uncovered a surprisingly complex immune system in which the moderately sized sets of pattern recognition receptors that form the core of vertebrate innate immunity are encoded in large multigene families. The sea urchin genome contains 253 Toll-like receptor (TLR genes, more than 200 Nod-like receptors and 1095 scavenger receptor cysteine-rich domains, a ten-fold expansion relative to vertebrates. Given their stereotypic structure and simple intron-exon architecture, the TLRs are the most tractable of these families for more detailed analysis. An immune defense role for these receptors is suggested by their sequence diversity and expression in immunologically active tissues, including phagocytes. This complexity of the sea urchin TLR multigene families largely derives from expansions that are independent of those in vertebrates and protostomes, although a small family of TLRs with structure similar to that of Drosophila Toll likely originated in an ancient eumetazoan ancestor. Several other invertebrate deuterostome genomes have been sequenced, including the cephalochordate, Branchiostoma floridae and the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus, as well as partial sequences from two other sea urchin species. Here, we present an analysis of the invertebrate deuterostome TLRs with emphasis on the echinoderms. Representatives of most of the S. purpuratus TLR subfamilies and homologs of the protostome-like sequences are found in L. variegatus. The phylogeny of these genes within sea urchins highlights lineage-specific expansions at higher resolution than is evident at the phylum level. These analyses identify quickly evolving TLR subfamilies that are likely to have novel functions and other, more stable, subfamilies that may function similarly to those of vertebrates.

The genome sequence of the purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, a large and long-lived invertebrate, provides a new perspective on animal immunity. Analysis of this genome uncovered a highly complex immune system in which the gene families that encode homologs of the pattern recognition receptors that form the core of vertebrate innate immunity are encoded in large multigene families. The sea urchin genome contains 253 Toll-like receptor (TLR) sequences, more than 200 Nod-like receptors and 1095 scavenger receptor cysteine-rich domains, a 10-fold expansion relative to vertebrates. Given their stereotypic protein structure and simple intron-exon architecture, the TLRs are the most tractable of these families for more detailed analysis. A role for these receptors in immune defense is suggested by their similarity to TLRs in other organisms, sequence diversity, and expression in immunologically active tissues, including phagocytes. The complexity of the sea urchin TLR multigene families is largely derived from expansions independent of those in vertebrates and protostomes, although a small family of TLRs with structure similar to that of Drosophila Toll can be traced to an ancient eumetazoan ancestor. Several other echinoderm sequences are now available, including Lytechinus variegatus, as well as partial sequences from two other sea urchin species. Here, we present an analysis of the invertebrate deuterostome TLRs with emphasis on the echinoderms. Representatives of most of the S. purpuratus TLR subfamilies and homologs of the mccTLR sequences are found in L. variegatus, although the L. variegatus TLR gene family is notably smaller (68 TLR sequences). The phylogeny of these genes within sea urchins highlights lineage-specific expansions at higher resolution than is evident at the phylum level. These analyses identify quickly evolving TLR subfamilies that are likely to have novel immune recognition functions and other, more stable, subfamilies that may

Full Text Available Shusmita Rahman,1 Maria Shering,2 Nicholas H Ogden,3 Robbin Lindsay,4 Alaa Badawi1 1National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Toronto, 2Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, 3National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, 4National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada Abstract: Lyme disease (LD risk occurs in North America and Europe where the tick vectors of the causal agent Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato are found. It is associated with local and systemic manifestations, and has persistent posttreatment health complications in some individuals. The innate immune system likely plays a critical role in both host defense against B. burgdorferi and disease severity. Recognition of B. burgdorferi, activation of the innate immune system, production of proinflammatory cytokines, and modulation of the host adaptive responses are all initiated by Toll-like receptors (TLRs. A number of Borrelia outer-surface proteins (eg, OspA and OspB are recognized by TLRs. Specifically, TLR1 and TLR2 were identified as the receptors most relevant to LD. Several functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms have been identified in TLR genes, and are associated with varying cytokines types and synthesis levels, altered pathogen recognition, and disruption of the downstream signaling cascade. These single-nucleotide polymorphism-related functional alterations are postulated to be linked to disease development and posttreatment persistent illness. Elucidating the role of TLRs in LD may facilitate a better understanding of disease pathogenesis and can provide an insight into novel therapeutic targets during active disease or postinfection and posttreatment stages. Keywords: Lyme disease, Toll-like receptors, Borrelia lipoproteins, genetic polymorphisms, host–pathogen interaction

During evolution and with the emergence of multicellular animals, the need arose to ward off foreign organisms that threaten the integrity of the animal body. Among many different receptors that participate in the recognition of microbial invaders, toll-like receptors (TLRs) play an essential role in mediating the innate immune response. After binding distinct microbial components, TLRs activate intracellular signaling cascades that result in an induced expression of diverse antimicrobial molecules. Because sponges (phylum Porifera) are filter feeders, they are abundantly exposed to microorganisms that represent a potential threat. Here, we describe the identification, cloning, and deduced protein sequence from 3 major elements of the poriferan innate response (to bacterial lipopeptides): the TLR, the IL-1 receptor-associated kinase-4-like protein (IRAK-4l), and a novel effector caspase from the demosponge Suberites domuncula. Each molecule shares significant sequence similarity with its homologues in higher Metazoa. Sequence homologies were found in particular within the family-specific domains toll/interleukin-1 receptor/resistance (TLR family), Ser/Thr/Tyr kinase domain (IRAK family), and CASc (caspase family). In addition, in situ hybridization and immunohistological analyses revealed an abundance of SDTLR (TLR) transcripts in epithelial layers of the sponge surface (exopinacoderm and endopinacoderm). Furthermore, it is shown that both SDTLR and SDIRAK-4 like (IRAK) are expressed constitutively, regardless of treatment with synthetic triacyl lipopeptide Pam(3)Cys-Ser-(Lys)(4). In contrast, SDCASL (caspase) expression is highly Pam(3)Cys-Ser-(Lys)(4) inducible. However, blocking of the lipopeptide with recombinant TLR prior to its application completely prevented the induced expression of this poriferan caspase. These results underscore that the phylogenetically oldest extant metazoan phylum is provided already with the signaling pathways of the antimicrobial

The etiology and pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD) are still unclear. However, multiple lines of evidence suggest a critical role of the toll like receptor 4 (TLR4) in inflammatory response and neuronal death. Neuroinflammation may be associated with the misfolding and aggregation of proteins accompanied by a change in their secondary structure. Recent findings also suggest that biochemical perturbations in cerebral lipid content could contribute to the pathogenesis of central nervous system (CNS) disorders, including PD. Thus, it is of great importance to determine the biochemical changes that occur in PD. In this respect, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy represents a useful tool to detect molecular alterations in biological systems in response to stress stimuli. By relying upon FTIR approach, this study was designed to elucidate the potential role of TLR4 in biochemical changes induced by methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) neurotoxin in a mouse model of PD. The analysis of the FTIR spectra was performed in different brain regions of both wild type (WT) and toll like receptor 4-deficient (TLR4(-/-)) mice. It revealed that each brain region exhibited a characteristic molecular fingerprint at baseline, with no significant differences between genotypes. Conversely, WT and TLR4(-/-) mice showed differential biochemical response to MPTP toxicity, principally related to lipid and protein composition. These differences appeared to be characteristic for each brain area. Furthermore, the present study showed that WT mice resulted more vulnerable than TLR4(-/-) animals to striatal dopamine (DA) depletion following MPTP treatment. These results support the hypothesis of a possible involvement of TLR4 in biochemical changes occurring in neurodegeneration.

Full Text Available Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV is a member of the Flaviviridae family. BVDV isolates are classified into two biotypes based on the development of cytopathic (cp or non-cytopathic (ncp effects in epithelial cell culture. BVDV isolates are further separated into species, BVDV1 and 2, based on genetic differences. Symptoms of BVDV infection range from subclinical to severe, depending on strain virulence, and may involve multiple organ systems and induction of a generalized immunosuppression. During BVDV-induced immune suppression, macrophages, critical to innate immunity, may have altered pathogen recognition receptor (PRR signaling, including signaling through toll-like receptors (TLRs. Comparison of BVDV 2 strains with different biotypes and virulence levels is valuable to determining if there are differences in host macrophage cellular responses between viral phenotypes. The current study demonstrates that cytopathic (cp, noncytopathic (ncp, high (hv or low virulence (lv BVDV2 infection of bovine monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMΦ result in differential expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines compared to uninfected MDMΦ. A hallmark of cp BVDV2 infection is IL-6 production. In response to TLR2 or 4 ligation, as might be observed during secondary bacterial infection, cytokine secretion was markedly decreased in BVDV2-infected MDMΦ, compared to non-infected MDMΦ. Macrophages were hyporesponsive to viral TLR3 or TLR8 ligation. However, TLR7 stimulation of BVDV2-infected MDMΦ induced cytokine secretion, unlike results observed for other TLRs. Together, these data suggest that BVDV2 infection modulated mRNA responses and induced a suppression of proinflammatory cytokine protein responses to TLR ligation in MDMΦ with the exception of TLR7 ligation. It is likely that there are distinct differences in TLR pathways modulated following BVDV2 infection, which have implications for macrophage responses to secondary infections.

NF-κB dependent antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are of critical importance in protecting insects or mammals from microorganisms infection. However, we still do not make clear signaling pathways in regulating AMPs expression in shrimps. In this study, RNAi approach was used to study differences between Toll signaling pathway and immune deficiency signaling pathway in regulating the transcription of NF-κB dependent AMPs post bacteria challenge. Results showed that the transcription level of anti-lipopolysaccharide factor was highly suppressed in Litopenaeus vannamei immune deficiency (LvIMD) silenced shrimps by gene specific dsRNA compared to Litopenaeus vannamei Toll (LvToll) silenced shrimps with or without Vibrio anguillarum and Micrococcus lysodeikticus challenge. Conversely the transcription level of penaeidin3a was significantly suppressed in LvToll silenced shrimps compared to LvIMD silenced shrimps. However, no obvious difference was found in regulating the transcription of CrustinP. Meanwhile, we found that silencing LvToll both down regulated the transcription of Dorsal and Relish while silencing LvIMD only down regulated the transcription of Relish. At last, shrimp survival experiment showed that post V. anguillarum challenge high mortality was found both in LvToll and LvIMD silenced groups while post M. lysodeikticus challenge we saw high mortality only in LvToll silenced group. Hence, we conclude that shrimp L. vannamei Toll pathway and IMD pathway might be different in regulating the transcription of NF-κB dependent AMPs and responding to bacteria challenge but not independent of each other.

The goal of this paper is to evaluate whether the incentives incorporated in toll highway concession contracts in order to encourage private operators to adopt measures to reduce accidents are actually effective at improving safety. To this end, we implemented negative binomial regression models using information about highway characteristics and accident data from toll highway concessions in Spain from 2007 to 2009. Our results show that even though road safety is highly influenced by variables that are not managed by the contractor, such as the annual average daily traffic (AADT), the percentage of heavy vehicles on the highway, number of lanes, number of intersections and average speed; the implementation of these incentives has a positive influence on the reduction of accidents and injuries. Consequently, this measure seems to be an effective way of improving safety performance in road networks.

Within the central nervous system, astrocytes and microglia are the primary responders to endogenous ligands released upon injury and stress, as well as to infectious pathogens. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are implicated in recognition of both types of stimulus. Whether astrocytes respond as stron......Within the central nervous system, astrocytes and microglia are the primary responders to endogenous ligands released upon injury and stress, as well as to infectious pathogens. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are implicated in recognition of both types of stimulus. Whether astrocytes respond...... as strongly as microglia to TLR agonists remains contentious. In this study, we have rigorously purified astrocytes to determine their capacity for autonomous TLR response, in absence of microglia. We used flow cytometry and differential adhesion as well as a myeloid lineage-specific suicide gene to purify...

Methods. We examined a group of children aged 1–15 years with chronic pyelonephritis in the active stage (n = 60. Control group consisted of 95 apparently healthy people. Results. There were revealed significantly higher prevalence of Toll-like receptor 4 Asp299Gly gene polymorphism among children with chronic pyelonephritis (n = 60, identified a statistically significant correlation of mutant genotypes Asp299Gly, Gly299Gly with manifestation of the disease before the age of 3, and frequent episodes of acute respiratory viral infections, torpid urinary syndrome, unstable remission and increased secretion of interleukin-6 (p < 0.001. Thus, genetically determined Toll-like receptor 4 Asp299Gly gene polymorphism is a marker of high risk of early manifestation of chronic inflammation in the kidney interstitium and prolonged recurrent clinical course of the disease in children.

Objective: The present study was an attempt to delineate the roles played by the neutrophil surface adhesion molecules and toll like receptors (TLRs) in crossbred cows suffering from Staphylococcus aureus subclinical and clinical mastitis. Materials and methods: Thirty six Karan Fries (KF) cows were categorized into three groups namely healthy (n=12), subclinical mastitis (SCM; n=12) and clinical mastitis (CM; n=12) after screening 146 cows. The grouping was done based on evaluation of co...

Platelets have been extensively studied as hemostatic regulators, stopping uncontrolled flow of blood from an injured vessel and allowing for repair. However, multiple studies have shown that platelets can interact with bacterial proteins, particularly seen during sepsis and inflammation. Immune cells recognize pathogens through Toll-like Receptors (TLRs). These same receptors allow platelets to recognize bacterial proteins and regulate platelet immunity and function. This review examines the...

Background Toll-like receptors play an important role in the human immune system. This study was conducted to investigate the expression profiles and function of Toll-like receptor (TLR)1-9 in human corneal epithelium.Methods The expression of TLR1-9 mRNA in 20 human donor corneal epithelia samples abraded during photorefractive keratotomy (PRK) and cultivated telomerase-immortalized human corneal epithelial cells (THCEs) was examined by semi-quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were used as positive controls. The expression of the TLR2 and TLR4 proteins was detected by Western analysis. ELISA was used to detect IL-8 secretion from THCEs challenged with ligands for TLR3 and TLR4 with and without antibody blockade.Results The expression of TLR1-9 at the mRNA level was detected in the epithelia of 20 patients and in THCE.Significant differences among individuals were observed. One patient was found to lack of the expression of TLR3, 4, 6 and 8, whereas another did not express TLR5. The expression of TLR2 and TLR4 protein was detected in human corneal epithelial cells. As THCE cells express TLR1-9, cells were challenged with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and poly I:C to determine whether TLR4 and TLR3 were functional. The results showed that secretion of IL-8 by cells stimulated with LPS and Poly I:C was 7 to 10 fold greater than secretion by unchallenged cells. Blocking TLR4 with an anti-TLR4 antibody significantly inhibited the LPS-induced IL-8 production by THCE (P＜0.05).Conclusion Human corneal epithelial cells express multiple TLRs and are able to recognize LPS and poly I:C. Different expression profiles among individuals suggest that differences in the susceptibilities and sensitivities to bacterial and viral infection in human populations relate to different patterns of TLR expression.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Previously we reported that mice deficient in toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4 signalling were protected from diet-induced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH. Another member of the toll-like receptor family, TLR-2, has been shown to play a role in lipid trafficking via uptake of diacylated lipoproteins. However, a role for TLR-2 in NASH has not been elucidated. The objectives of the current study were to examine the influence of dietary fat quality and TLR-2 on NASH pathogenesis. Methods Steatohepatitis was induced in male Db, C57BL/6 and TLR-2-/- mice by feeding an L-amino acid-defined diet that was deficient in methionine and choline (MCDD. Mice fed the base diet supplemented with methionine and choline (control diet; CD were used as controls. To determine the role of fat quality, MCDD was enriched with polyunsaturated corn oil (PUFA or coconut oil that is comprised mostly of saturated fat (SAFA; the total amount of each fat was 112.9 g/kg of diet. After 8 weeks of feeding CD or MCDD, hepatic steatosis, inflammation and necrosis were evaluated in histological sections. Total RNA was extracted from frozen liver samples and mRNA expression of TNFα, collagen α1, IL-10, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ, TLR-4, and CD14, was analyzed via real-time PCR. Protein levels of TLR-2 were analyzed by western blot. Results Panlobular macrovessicular steatosis and diffuse leukocyte infiltration were noted in PUFA-fed Db mice. Histological scores demonstrated significantly less steatosis, inflammation and necrosis in SAFA-fed mice of all mouse strains. However, compared to wild type mice, hepatocellular damage was notably more severe in TLR-2-/- mice. Consistent with histological findings, mRNA expression of TNFα was elevated by approximately 3-fold in TLR-2-/- mice; PPAR-γ expression was blunted in this strain compared to wild type. Expression of the matrix protein collagen αI was also significantly higher in TLR-2

The great importance of the Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in innate immunity is well established, but one family member--TLR10--remains elusive. TLR10 is expressed in various tissues in several species, but its ligand is not known and its function is still poorly understood. The open reading frame of TLR10 was sequenced in 15 wild boars, representing three populations, and in 15 unrelated domestic pigs of Hampshire, Landrace and Large White origin. Amino acid positions corresponding to detected nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were analysed in the crystal structures determined for the human TLR1-TLR2-lipopeptide complex and the human TLR10 Toll/Interleukin 1 receptor (TIR) dimer. SNP occurrence in wild boars and domestic pigs was compared, and haplotypes for the TLR10 gene and the TLR6-1-10 gene cluster were reconstructed. Despite the limited number of animals sequenced in the present study (N = 30), a larger number of SNPs were found in TLR10 than recently reported for TLR1, TLR6 and TLR2. Thirty-three SNPs were detected, of which 20 were nonsynonymous. The relative frequency of nonsynonymous (d(N) ) and synonymous (d(S) ) SNPs between wild boars and domestic pigs was higher in TLR10 than recently reported for TLR1, TLR6 and TLR2. However, the polymorphism reported in the present study seems to leave the function of the TLR10 molecule unaffected. Furthermore, no nonsynonymous SNPs were detected in the part of the gene corresponding to the hinge region of the receptor, probably reflecting rigorously acting functional constraint. The total number of SNPs and the number of nonsynonymous SNPs were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the wild boars than in the domestic pigs, and fewer TLR10 haplotypes were present in the wild boars. The majority of the TLR6-1-10 haplotypes were specific for either wild boars or domestic pigs, probably reflecting differences in microbial environment and population history.

The invasion of sensitive pathogens invade the body, and reproductive system encoded pattern recognition receptors recognize pathogens,thus start the innate immune system. Toll-like receptor (TLR) plays an important role in the immune system recognition of microbial pathogens thus is a regulating antigen receptor family. TLR are expressed on many immune and non immune cells while participate in a variety of cell migration, so they are closely related to movement and migration of cells.Activation of TLR induce a series of inflammatory mejiators,including cytokines,chemokines and so on,and result in strong biological effects. The most prominent biological function of TLR is on the one hand,they enhance the synthesis and release of cytokine and chemokine that trigger inflammation and cell effect,on the other hand, they promote the mature of antigen presenting cells that induce the acquired immune response. So TLR are the bridge of innate immunity and acquired immunity.%敏感性侵袭病原体侵入机体,生殖系编码模式识别受体识别病原体,由此启动先天免疫系统.Toll样受体家族(toll-like receptors,TLR)是在免疫系统特异性识别微生物病原体抗原中发挥重要调控作用的受体家族.TLR表达于许多的免疫和非免疫细胞,参与多种细胞迁移,与细胞的迁移性运动密切相关.活化TLR诱导产生一系列的炎症介质包括细胞因子、趋化因子等从而产生强有力的生物学效应.TLR最突出的生物学功能一方面促进细胞因子或趋化因子的合成与释放,引发炎症反应或细胞效应,另一方面是促进抗原递呈细胞的成熟,从而诱导机体的获得性免疫反应,因而是机体介导天然免疫转向获得性免疫的桥梁.

Full Text Available Background/Aims: Lung contusion is a potentially lethal injury. Pleckstrin homology-like domain family A, member-1 (PHLDA1 is known to play crucial roles in cell proliferation and apoptosis. In this study, we investigated the biological role of PHLDA1 in lung contusion. Methods: The expression levels of PHLDA1 and TLR2 were detected by real time PCR and western. The cytokines were determined by ELISA. The inflammatory factors were detected by flow cytometry. The lung injury was determined by HE staining. Results: PHLDA1 gene and protein expression levels were up-regulated in a mouse lung-contusion model, together with increased neutrophil and macrophage contents. Down-regulation of PHLDA1 by interfering RNA (siPHLDA1 mice decreased lung injury and neutrophil infiltration. Inflammatory factors, including interleukin (IL-1β, IL-6, mouse homolog of human growth-regulated oncogene-α (KC, tumor necrosis factor-α, CC chemokine ligand (CCL 2, and CCL12 were also decreased in siPHLDA1 mice. Expression levels of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2 were increased in the lung-contusion mouse model, but were decreased when PHLDA1 was down-regulated. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that PHLDA1 plays a critical role in the development of progressive lung contusion and subsequent inflammation. This information furthers our understanding of the pathogenesis of lung contusion, and suggests that PHLDA1 blockade may represent a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of this injury.

Despite recent medical advances, atherosclerosis is a global burden accounting for numerous deaths and hospital admissions. Immune-mediated inflammation is a major component of the atherosclerotic process, but earlier research focus on adaptive immunity has gradually switched towards the role of innate immunity. The complement system and toll-like receptors (TLRs), and the crosstalk between them, may be of particular interest both with respect to pathogenesis and as therapeutic targets in atherosclerosis. Animal studies indicate that inhibition of C3a and C5a reduces atherosclerosis. In humans modified LDL-cholesterol activate complement and TLRs leading to downstream inflammation, and histopathological studies indicate that the innate immune system is present in atherosclerotic lesions. Moreover, clinical studies have demonstrated that both complement and TLRs are upregulated in atherosclerotic diseases, although interventional trials have this far been disappointing. However, based on recent research showing an intimate interplay between complement and TLRs we propose a model in which combined inhibition of both complement and TLRs may represent a potent anti-inflammatory therapeutic approach to reduce atherosclerosis.

In this study, the expression levels of viral Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in the nervous system of bovine herpesvirus type 5 (BoHV-5)-infected calves were investigated. A significant increase in the expression of TLRs 3 and 7-9 was found in the anterior cerebral cortex during acute infection and viral reactivation. In the trigeminal ganglia, only TLR9 expression was significantly affected. The magnitude of the increase was lower in BoHV-1-infected calves, suggesting that a restricted immune response might protect against exacerbated inflammatory responses in the brain. This work describes, for the first time, the involvement of TLRs 3 and 7-9 in the recognition of BoHV in the bovine nervous system, indicating that the expression of these receptors might be associated with the development of neurological disease. Modulation of the signalling pathways mediated by TLRs might provide an effective approach to control the neuro-immune response to BoHV-5, which may be responsible for neurological lesions.

The African penguin, Spheniscus demersus, is listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to the drastic reduction in population numbers over the last 20 years. To date, the only studies on immunogenetic variation in penguins have been conducted on the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes. It was shown in humans that up to half of the genetic variability in immune responses to pathogens are located in non-MHC genes. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are now increasingly being studied in a variety of taxa as a broader approach to determine functional genetic diversity. In this study, we confirm low genetic diversity in the innate immune region of African penguins similar to that observed in New Zealand robin that has undergone several severe population bottlenecks. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) diversity across TLRs varied between ex situ and in situ penguins with the number of non-synonymous alterations in ex situ populations (n = 14) being reduced in comparison to in situ populations (n = 16). Maintaining adaptive diversity is of vital importance in the assurance populations as these animals may potentially be used in the future for re-introductions. Therefore, this study provides essential data on immune gene diversity in penguins and will assist in providing an additional monitoring tool for African penguin in the wild, as well as to monitor diversity in ex situ populations and to ensure that diversity found in the in situ populations are captured in the assurance populations.

Full Text Available Objective. The study aimed at locating and quantifying Toll Like Receptor (TLR 3, 7, 8, and 9 expression in kidney of patients with lupus nephritis (LN and correlating them with clinicopathological features. Methods. Kidney sections from 26 LN patients and 4 controls were analyzed by immunohistochemistry using anti-human TLR3, TLR7, TLR8, and TLR9 polyclonal antibodies; the number of TLR-positive nuclei/mm2 was evaluated on digitalized images. Results. Compared to controls, LN showed a significantly higher amount of glomerular and tubulointerstitial TLR9 (p=0.003 and p=0.007, whole and tubulointerstitial TLR3 (p=0.026 and p=0.031, and a higher tubulointerstitial TLR7 (p=0.022. TLR9 positively correlated with activity index (p=0.0063 and tubular TLR7 with chronicity index (p=0.026. TLR9 positively correlated with Renal-SLEDAI (p=0.01. Conclusions. This is the first study quantifying kidney expressions of TLRs in LN patients; the results show an overexpression of TLR3, TLR7, and TLR9 and demonstrate a correlation with clinicopathological indices supporting a role of these mediators in the pathogenesis of LN.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are germ-line-encoded innate immune sensors that recognize conserved microbial structures and host alarmins and signal expression of MHC proteins, costimulatory molecules, and inflammatory mediators by macrophages, neutrophils, dendritic cells, and other cell types. These processes activate immediate and early mechanisms of innate host defense, as well as initiate and orchestrate adaptive immune responses. Several single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the TLR genes have been associated with altered susceptibility to infectious, inflammatory, and allergic diseases, and have been found to play a role in tumorigenesis. Critical advances in our understanding of innate immune functions and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have uncovered complex interactions of genetic polymorphisms within TLRs and environmental factors. However, conclusions obtained in the course of such analyses are restricted by limited power of many studies that is likely to explain controversial findings. Further, linkages to certain ethnic backgrounds, gender, and the presence of multigenic effects further complicate the interpretations of how the TLR SNPs affect immune responses. For many TLRs, the molecular mechanisms by which SNPs impact receptor functions remain unknown. In this review, I have summarized current knowledge about the TLR polymorphisms, their impact on TLR signaling, and associations with various inflammatory, infectious, allergic diseases and cancers, and discussed the directions of future scientific research.

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 in Ganoderma atrum polysaccharide (PSG-1)-induced antitumor activity. In vitro, the apoptosis rate of S-180 cells was increased in PSG-1-induced peritoneal macrophage derived from C3H/HeN (wild-type) mice, but not from C3H/HeJ (TLR4-deficient) mice. In the S-180 tumor model, phagocytosis, NO and ROS release, phosphorylation of MAPKs and Akt, and expression of NF-κB were increased by PSG-1 in peritoneal macrophage derived from C3H/HeN mice. Furthermore, PSG-1 elevated Th1 cytokine production and enhanced the cytotoxic activity of CTL and NK cells in C3H/HeN mice. In addition, PSG-1 decreased the tumor weight and increased the apoptosis rate and caspase-3 and caspase-9 activities of tumor derived from the C3H/HeN mice. However, none of these activities were observed in C3H/HeJ mice. In summary, these findings demonstrated that the antitumor activity of PSG-1 is mediated by TLR4.

Leukocyte recruitment is an important process in combatting pathogens. The largest class of circulating leukocytes are neutrophils, which rapidly invade inflamed tissue, followed by inflammatory Ly6C(+) monocytes. Ly6C(low) monocytes patrol the endothelial wall routinely in the steady state. We recently reported early luminal recruitment of Ly6C(low) monocytes, which preceded and orchestrated neutrophil arrival and extravasation in response to TLR7/8-mediated vascular inflammation. Here we dissected the kinetics of recruitment of monocytes and neutrophils and examined the dynamics of Ly6C(low) monocytes in response to several other Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists, using intravital confocal microscopy. We observed two types of kinetics in mesenteric veins. TLR2, TLR5 and TLR9 agonists caused early monocyte and neutrophil influx whereas TLR3 and TLR4 agonists rapidly recruited neutrophils and caused Ly6C(low) monocytes to arrive at low levels later on. All TLR agonists, except TLR9, led Ly6C(low) monocytes to meticulously patrol the vascular wall. Finally, these monocytes released pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines implicated in neutrophil recruitment in response to TLR2, TLR4 and TLR9 stimulation but not to TLR3 and TLR5 agonists. These results refine our understanding of the early events in the leukocyte recruitment cascade, including the patrolling behaviour of Ly6C(low) monocytes, in TLR-mediated acute vascular inflammation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

American football has unequivocally been linked to elevations in blood pressure and hypertension, especially in linemen. However, the mechanisms of this increase cannot be attributed solely to increased body weight and associated cardiometabolic risk factors (e.g.,dyslipidemia or hyperglycemia). Therefore, understanding the etiology of football-associated hypertension is essential for improving the quality of life in this mostly young population, as well as for lowering the potential for chronic disease in the future. We propose that inflammatogenic damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) released into the circulation from football-induced musculoskeletal trauma activate pattern-recognition receptors of the innate immune system-specifically, high mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) and mitochondrial (mt)DNA which activate Toll-like receptor (TLR)4 and -9, respectively. Previously, we observed that circulating levels of these 2 DAMPs are increased in hypertension, and activation of TLR4 and -9 causes endothelial dysfunction and hypertension. Therefore, our novel hypothesis is that musculoskeletal injury from repeated hits in football players, particularly in linemen, leads to elevated circulating HMGB1 and mtDNA to activate TLRs on endothelial cells leading to impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation, increased vascular tone, and hypertension.

Full Text Available Despite significant advances in the study of the molecular mechanisms altered in the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases (NDs, the etiology is still enigmatic and the distinctions between diseases are not always entirely clear. We present an efficient computational method based on protein-protein interaction network (PPI to model the functional network of NDs. The aim of this work is fourfold: (i reconstruction of a PPI network relating to the NDs, (ii construction of an association network between diseases based on proximity in the disease PPI network, (iii quantification of disease associations, and (iv inference of potential molecular mechanism involved in the diseases. The functional links of diseases not only showed overlap with the traditional classification in clinical settings, but also offered new insight into connections between diseases with limited clinical overlap. To gain an expanded view of the molecular mechanisms involved in NDs, both direct and indirect connector proteins were investigated. The method uncovered molecular relationships that are in common apparently distinct diseases and provided important insight into the molecular networks implicated in disease pathogenesis. In particular, the current analysis highlighted the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway as a potential candidate pathway to be targeted by therapy in neurodegeneration.

The Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play an important role in the recognition of Candida albicans components and activation of innate immunity. Phospholipomannan (PLM), a glycolipid, is expressed at the surface of C. albicans cell wall, which acts as a member of the pathogen-associated molecular patterns family. In this study, we sought to clarify whether C. albicans-native PLM could induce an inflammation response in human keratinocytes and to determine the underlying mechanisms. Exposure of cultured human primary keratinocytes to PLM led to the increased gene expression and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6) and chemokines (IL-8). PLM hydrolysed with beta-d-mannoside mannohydrolase failed to induce gene expression and secretion of IL-6 and IL-8. PLM up-regulated the mRNA and protein levels of TLR2, whereas the mRNA level of TLR4 was not altered. Keratinocytes challenged with PLM resulted in the activation of NF-kappaB and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPKs) including p38. Anti-TLR2 neutralizing antibody, NFkappaB and p38MAPK inhibitors blocked the PLM-induced secretion of IL-6, IL-8 in keratinocytes, but no such effect was observed in pretreatment with anti-TLR4-neutralizing antibody and lipopolysaccharide inhibitor (polymyxin B). These data suggest C. albicans-native PLM may contribute to the inflammatory responses of cutaneous candidiasis in the TLR2-NF-kappaB and p38MAPK signalling pathway dependent manner.

Angiogenesis defines the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing vascular endothelial networks and corresponds with the wound healing process that is typified by the process of liver fibrosis. Liver fibrosis is also associated with increased endotoxin within the gut lumen and its associated portal circulation. However, the interrelationship of gut endotoxin and its receptor, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), with liver fibrosis and associated angiogenesis remains incompletely defined. RESULT Here we provide evidence, using complementary genetic, molecular, and pharmacologic approaches that the pattern recognition receptor that recognizes endotoxin, TLR4, expressed on liver endothelial cells (LEC), regulates angiogenic responses both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistic studies reveal a key role for a cognate TLR4 effector protein, MyD88 in this process which culminates in extracellular protease production that regulates LEC invasive capacity, a key step in angiogenesis. Furthermore TLR4 dependent angiogenesis in vivo corresponds with fibrosis in complementary liver models of fibrosis. CONCLUSION These studies provide evidence that the TLR4 pathway in LEC regulates angiogenesis through its MyD88 effector protein by regulating extracellular protease production and that this process is linked to the development of liver fibrosis. PMID:20564354

Recent studies have suggested that odontoblasts are involved in the dental pulp immune response to oral pathogens that invade human dentin during the caries process. How odontoblasts regulate the early inflammatory and immune pulp response to Gram-positive bacteria, which predominate in shallow and moderate dentin caries, is still poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the production of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines by odontoblast-like cells upon engagement of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2, a pattern recognition molecule activated by Gram-positive bacteria components. We used a highly sensitive Milliplex(®) kit for detecting cytokines released by cells stimulated with lipoteichoic acid (LTA), a cell wall component of Gram-positive bacteria, or with the potent TLR2 synthetic agonist Pam2CSK4. We found that odontoblasts produce the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 and CXCL8, as well as the immunosuppressive cytokine IL-10 in response to TLR2 agonists. GM-CSF, IFNγ, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-7, IL-12(p70), IL-13 and TNF-α were not detected. These data indicate that TLR2 activation in human odontoblasts selectively induces production of mediators known to influence positively or negatively inflammatory and immune responses in pathogen-challenged tissues. We suggest that these molecules might be important in regulating the fine tuning of the pulp response to Gram-positive bacteria which enter dentin during the caries process.

Accumulating evidences suggest that Toll-like receptors (TLRs) were involved in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder. TLR4 was thought to be associated with major depressive disorder in animal model, but the others were still unknown. In order to examine TLR1-9 mRNA expression levels in peripheral blood and their relationships with the psychopathology of major depressive disorder, 30 patients with major depressive disorder were compared with 29 healthy controls. The 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) was used to assess the severity of major depression. The mRNA expression levels of TLRs were examined in parallel with a housekeeping gene using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Analysis of covariance with age and body mass index adjustment revealed a significantly higher expression of TLR3, 4, 5 and 7 mRNA but lower expression of TLR1 and 6 in patients with major depressive disorder as compared with healthy controls. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that TLR4 was an independent risk factor relating to severity of major depression. These findings suggest that TLRs, especially TLR4, may be involved in the psychopathology of major depression.

Full Text Available This work presents the effects of feruloylated oligosaccharides (FOs of rice bran on murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs and the potential pathway through which the effects are mediated. We found that FOs induced phenotypic maturation of DCs, as shown by the increased expression of CD40, CD80/CD86 and MHC-I/II molecules. FOs efficiently induced maturation of DCs generated from C3H/HeN or C57BL/6 mice with normal toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4 or TLR-2 but not DCs from mice with mutated TLR4 or TLR2. The mechanism of action of FOs may be mediated by increased phosphorylation of ERK, p38 and JNK mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPKs and increased NF-kB activity, which are important signaling molecules downstream of TLR-4 and TLR-2. These data suggest that FOs induce DCs maturation through TLR-4 and/or TLR-2 and that FOs might have potential efficacy against tumor or virus infection or represent a candidate-adjuvant approach for application in immunotherapy and vaccination.

Chronic inflammation-associated bone destruction, which is observed in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and periodontitis, is mediated by excessive osteoclastogenesis. We showed previously that γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT), an enzyme involved in glutathione metabolism, acts as an endogenous activator of such pathological osteoclastogenesis, independent of its enzymatic activity. GGT accumulation is clinically observed in the joints of RA patients, and, in animals, the administration of recombinant GGT to the gingival sulcus as an in vivo periodontitis model induces an increase in the number of osteoclasts. However, the underlying mechanisms of this process remain unclear. Here, we report that Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) recognizes GGT to activate inflammation-associated osteoclastogenesis. Unlike lipopolysaccharide, GGT is sensitive to proteinase K treatment and insensitive to polymyxin B treatment. TLR4 deficiency abrogates GGT-induced osteoclastogenesis and activation of NF-κB and MAPK signaling in precursor cells. Additionally, GGT does not induce osteoclastogenesis in cells lacking the signaling adaptor MyD88. The administration of GGT to the gingival sulcus induces increased osteoclastogenesis in wild-type mice, but does not induce it in TLR4-deficient mice. Our findings elucidate a novel mechanism of inflammation-associated osteoclastogenesis, which involves TLR4 recognition of GGT and subsequent activation of MyD88-dependent signaling. PMID:27775020

Introduction Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are caused by different types of microbial agents such as uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) and Candida albicans. The presence of strong physical barriers may prevent the breach of pathogens into the urinary tract. However, sometimes the pathogenic microorganisms may pass through the barriers and stimulate the innate and adaptive responses. Among a variety of innate immune responses, Toll-Like Receptors (TLRs) are one of the most unique and interesting molecules regarding UTIs. Thus, the authors have focused their attention on the role of TLRs in urinary tract defense against pathogenic microbial agents such as UPEC and C.albicans through this literature review. Material and methods Several papers regarding UTIs and TLRs including original and review articles were searched by PubMed and Google Scholar. They were studied and the most important aspects in association with the role of TLRs in UTIs were extracted. Additionally, this paper was prepared using the experience of the authors. Results The TLRs 2, 4 and 5 are the most functional molecules that contribute to urinary tract defense system and UTIs. It is incredible that TLRs are able to detect and recognize different parts of microbial components relating to the same pathogen. Besides, the flexibility of the TLR molecules may lead to identification of different types of microorganisms with different signaling pathways. Conclusions Our knowledge associated with TLRs and their activities against microbial causative agents of UTIs may help us to prevent, control and treat UTIs at a higher quality level. PMID:28127459

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to test the possible implication of toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2 and TLR4 gene polymorphisms in determining the susceptibility to Chagas' disease. Genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism in 475 individuals from Colombia, 143 seropositive with chagasic cardiomyopathy, 132 seropositive asymptomatic and 200 seronegative. The TLR2 arginine to glutamine substitution at residue 753(Arg753Gln polymorphism was absent in the groups analyzed. The TLR4 Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile polymorphisms are in linkage disequilibrium and we observed a very low frequency of these polymorphisms in our study population (2.6% and 1.8% respectively. The overall TLR2 and TLR4 alleles and genotype distribution in seronegative and seropositive were not significantly different. We compared the frequencies between asymptomatic patients and those with chagasic cardiomyopathy and we did not observe any significant differences in the distribution of alleles or genotypes. In summary, this study corroborates the low frequency of TLR2 and TLR4 polymorphisms observed in other populations and suggest that these do not play an important role in Chagas' disease. The validation of these findings in independent cohorts is needed to firmly establish a role for TLR2 and TLR4 variants in Chagas' disease.

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) has been reported to induce insulin resistance through inflammation in high-fat-fed mice. However, the physiological role of TLR4 in metabolism is unknown. Here, we investigated the involvement of TLR4 in fasting metabolism. Wild-type and TLR4 deficient (TLR4(-/-)) mice were either fed or fasted for 24 h. Glucose and lipid levels in circulation and tissues were measured. Glucose and lipid metabolism in tissues, as well as the expression of related enzymes, was examined. Mice lacking TLR4 displayed aggravated fasting hypoglycemia, along with normal hepatic gluconeogenesis, but reversed activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) in skeletal muscle, which might account for the fasting hypoglycemia. TLR4(-/-) mice also exhibited higher lipid levels in circulation and skeletal muscle after fasting and reversed expression of lipogenic enzymes in skeletal muscle but not liver and adipose tissue. Adipose tissue lipolysis is normal and muscle fatty acid oxidation is increased in TLR4(-/-) mice after fasting. Inhibition of fatty acid synthesis in TLR4(-/-) mice abolished hyperlipidemia, hypoglycemia, and PDC activity increase, suggesting that TLR4-dependent inhibition of muscle lipogenesis may contribute to glucose and lipid homeostasis during fasting. Further studies showed that TLR4 deficiency had no effect on insulin signaling and muscle proinflammatory cytokine production in response to fasting. These data suggest that TLR4 plays a critical role in glucose and lipid metabolism independent of insulin during fasting and identify a novel physiological role for TLR4 in fuel homeostasis.

Treponema denticola, a spirochete indigenous to the oral cavity, is associated with host inflammatory responses to anaerobic polymicrobial infections of the root canal, periodontium, and alveolar bone. However, the cellular mechanisms responsible for the recognition of T. denticola by the innate immune system and the underlying cell signaling pathways that regulate the inflammatory response to T. denticola are currently unresolved. In this study, we demonstrate that T. denticola induces innate immune responses via the utilization of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) but not TLR4. Assessment of TLR2/1 and TLR2/6 heterodimers revealed that T. denticola predominantly utilizes TLR2/6 for the induction of cellular responses. Analysis of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway in T. denticola-stimulated monocytes identified a prolonged up-regulation of the MAPK extracellular signal-related kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and p38, while no discernible increase in phospho-c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1/2 (JNK1/2) levels was observed. With the aid of pharmacological inhibitors selectively targeting ERK1/2 via the mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-related kinase 1/2 kinase and p38, we further demonstrate that ERK1/2 and p38 play a major role in T. denticola-mediated pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine production.

In mammalians, toll-like receptors (TLR) signal-transduction pathways induce the expression of a variety of immune-response genes, including inflammatory cytokines. It is therefore plausible to assume that TLRs are mediators in glial cells triggering the release of cytokines that ultimately kill DA neurons in the substantia nigra in Parkinson disease (PD). Accordingly, recent data indicate that TLR4 is up-regulated by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) treatment in a mouse model of PD. Here, we wished to evaluate the role of TLR4 in the acute mouse MPTP model of PD: TLR4-deficient mice and wild-type littermates control mice were used for the acute administration way of MPTP or a corresponding volume of saline. We demonstrate that TLR4-deficient mice are less vulnerable to MPTP intoxication than wild-type mice and display a decreased number of Iba1+ and MHC II+ activated microglial cells after MPTP application, suggesting that the TLR4 pathway is involved in experimental PD. PMID:23462811

In mammals, toll-like receptors (TLR) recognize ligands, including pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), and respond with ligand-specific induction of genes. In this study, we establish evolutionary conservation in teleost fish of key components of the TLR-signaling pathway that act as switches for differential gene induction, including MYD88, TIRAP, TRIF, TRAF6, IRF3, and IRF7. We further explore this conservation with a molecular phylogenetic analysis of MYD88. To the extent that current genomic analysis can establish, each vertebrate has one ortholog to each of these genes. For molecular tree construction and phylogeny inference, we demonstrate a methodology for including genes with only partial primary sequences without disrupting the topology provided by the high-confidence full-length sequences. Conservation of the TLR-signaling molecules suggests that the basic program of gene regulation by the TLR-signaling pathway is conserved across vertebrates. To test this hypothesis, leukocytes from a model fish, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), were stimulated with known mammalian TLR agonists including: Diacylated and triacylated forms of lipoprotein, flagellin, two forms of LPS, synthetic double-stranded RNA, and two imidazoquinoline compounds (loxoribine and R848). Trout leukocytes responded in vitro to a number of these agonists with distinct patterns of cytokine expression that correspond to mammalian responses. Our results support the key prediction from our phylogenetic analyses that strong selective pressure of pathogenic microbes has preserved both TLR recognition and signaling functions during vertebrate evolution. ?? 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are germline-encoded pattern-recognition receptors that initiate innate immune responses by recognizing molecular structures shared by a wide range of pathogens,known as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs).After tissue injury or cellular stress,TLRs also detect endogenous ligands known as danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs).TLRs are expressed in both non-neuronal and neuronal cell types in the central nervous system (CNS) and contribute to both infectious and non-infectious disorders in the CNS.Following tissue insult and nerve injury,TLRs (such as TLR2,TLR3,and TLR4) induce the activation of microglia and astrocytes and the production of the proinflammatory cytokines in the spinal cord,leading to the development and maintenance of inflammatory pain and neuropathic pain.In particular,primary sensory neurons,such as nociceptors,express TLRs (e.g.,TLR4 and TLR7) to sense exogenous PAMPs and endogenous DAMPs released after tissue injury and cellular stress.These neuronal TLRs are new players in the processing of pain and itch by increasing the excitability of primary sensory neurons.Given the prevalence of chronic pain and itch and the suffering of affected people,insights into TLR signaling in the nervous system will open a new avenue for the management of clinical pain and itch.

Full Text Available Toll-like receptors (TLRs belong to the pattern recognition receptor (PRR family, a key component of the innate immune system. TLRs detect invading pathogens and initiate an immediate immune response to them, followed by a long-lasting adaptive immune response. Activation of TLRs leads to the synthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines and the expression of co-stimulatory molecules. TLR4 specifically recognizes bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS, along with several other components of pathogens and endogenous molecules produced during abnormal situations, such as tissue damage. Evolution across species can lead to substantial diversity in the TLR4’s affinity and specificity to its ligands, the TLR4 gene and cellular expression patterns and tissue distribution. Consequently, TLR4 functions vary across different species. In recent years, the use of synthetic TLR agonists as adjuvants has emerged as a realistic therapeutic goal, notably for the development of vaccines against poorly immunogenic targets. Given that an adjuvanted vaccine must be assessed in pre-clinical animal models before being tested in humans, the extent to which an animal model represents and predicts the human condition is of particular importance. This review focuses on the current knowledge on the critical points of divergence between human and the mammalian species commonly used in vaccine research and development (non-human primate, mouse, rat, rabbit, swine and dog, in terms of molecular, cellular and functional properties of TLR4.

Regulated by histone acetyltransferases and deacetylases (HDACs), histone acetylation is a key epigenetic mechanism controlling chromatin structure, DNA accessibility, and gene expression. HDAC inhibitors induce growth arrest, differentiation, and apoptosis of tumor cells and are used as anticancer agents. Here we describe the effects of HDAC inhibitors on microbial sensing by macrophages and dendritic cells in vitro and host defenses against infection in vivo. HDAC inhibitors down-regulated the expression of numerous host defense genes, including pattern recognition receptors, kinases, transcription regulators, cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and costimulatory molecules as assessed by genome-wide microarray analyses or innate immune responses of macrophages and dendritic cells stimulated with Toll-like receptor agonists. HDAC inhibitors induced the expression of Mi-2β and enhanced the DNA-binding activity of the Mi-2/NuRD complex that acts as a transcriptional repressor of macrophage cytokine production. In vivo, HDAC inhibitors increased the susceptibility to bacterial and fungal infections but conferred protection against toxic and septic shock. Thus, these data identify an essential role for HDAC inhibitors in the regulation of the expression of innate immune genes and host defenses against microbial pathogens.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are expressed by a wide variety of cell types including immune cells. They play a crucial role in the inflammatory and host defense response against microorganisms, and triggering TLRs can mediate the activation of innate immunity. Furthermore, research suggests that various TLRs may function differently on different tumor cells. The change in TLR activity may elicit an anti-tumor activity in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and may serve as a novel therapeutic target for HCC therapy. This review discusses the role of the TLR family in HCC and the underlying signaling pathway of TLRs as a form of pattern recognition receptor in mediating inflammation and HCC immunity responses. Agonists and antagonists of TLRs, which render TLRs as potential therapeutic targets, activate downstream molecules, subsequently causing HCC cell survival. The proliferation or protection against the development of HCC is also described. A series of studies have highlighted a crucial role of TLRs in HCC and consider TLR signaling pathways as potential therapeutic targets for HCC. However, the conclusions of these studies are in part paradoxical and controversial. Thus, it is necessary to extend further research to help determine the signaling pathways involved.

Full Text Available Toll-like receptors (TLRs are not only crucial to the initiation of the immune system, but also play a key role in several human inflammatory diseases. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC is among those human cancers, which arise from sites of chronic inflammation. Therefore, a number of studies have explored the potential contribution of TLRs to HCC occurrence, which is initiated by exposure to chronic hepatic inflammation of different etiologies (including ethanol, and chronic B and C viral infections. Recent epidemiological data have shown the association of obesity and HCC development. Given the fact that adipose tissues can produce a variety of inflammation-related adipokines, obesity has been characterized as a state of chronic inflammation. Adipokines are therefore considered as important mediators linking inflammation to several metabolic diseases, including cancers. More recently, many experts have also shown the bridging role of TLRs between inflammation and metabolism. Hopefully, to retrieve the potential interaction between TLRs and adipokines in carcinogenesis of HCC will shed a new light on the therapeutic alternative for HCC. In this paper, the authors first review the respective roles of TLRs and adipokines, discuss their mutual interaction in chronic inflammation, and finally anticipate further investigations of this interaction in HCC development.

Since the introduction of the term "gut-liver axis", many studies have focused on the functional links of intestinal microbiota, barrier function and immune responses to liver physiology. Intestinal and extra-intestinal diseases alter microbiota composition and lead to dysbiosis, which aggravates impaired intestinal barrier function via increased lipopolysaccharide translocation. The subsequent increased passage of gut-derived product from the intestinal lumen to the organ wall and bloodstream affects gut motility and liver biology. The activation of the toll-like receptor 4(TLR-4) likely plays a key role in both cases. This review analyzed the most recent literature on the gut-liver axis, with a particular focus on the role of TLR-4 activation. Findings that linked liver disease with dysbiosis are evaluated, and links between dysbiosis and alterations of intestinal permeability and motility are discussed. We also examine the mechanisms of translocated gut bacteria and/or the bacterial product activation of liver inflammation and fibrogenesis via activity on different hepatic cell types.

Toll-like receptors (TLR) are ancient innate immune receptors crucial for immune homeostasis and protection against infection. TLRs are present in mammals, birds, amphibians and fish but have not been functionally characterized in reptiles despite the central position of this animal class in vertebrate evolution. Here we report the cloning, characterization, and function of TLR5 of the reptile Anolis carolinensis (Green Anole lizard). The receptor (acTLR5) displays the typical TLR protein architecture with 22 extracellular leucine rich repeats flanked by a N- and C-terminal leucine rich repeat domain, a membrane-spanning region, and an intracellular TIR domain. The receptor is phylogenetically most similar to TLR5 of birds and most distant to fish TLR5. Transcript analysis revealed acTLR5 expression in multiple lizard tissues. Stimulation of acTLR5 with TLR ligands demonstrated unique responsiveness towards bacterial flagellin in both reptile and human cells. Comparison of acTLR5 and human TLR5 using purified flagellins revealed differential sensitivity to Pseudomonas but not Salmonella flagellin, indicating development of species-specific flagellin recognition during the divergent evolution of mammals and reptiles. Our discovery of reptile TLR5 fills the evolutionary gap regarding TLR conservation across vertebrates and provides novel insights in functional evolution of host-microbe interactions.

Conventional cancer treatments rely on radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Such treatments supposedly mediate their effects via the direct elimination of tumor cells. Here we show that the success of some protocols for anticancer therapy depends on innate and adaptive antitumor immune responses. We describe in both mice and humans a previously unrecognized pathway for the activation of tumor antigen-specific T-cell immunity that involves secretion of the high-mobility-group box 1 (HMGB1) alarmin protein by dying tumor cells and the action of HMGB1 on Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expressed by dendritic cells (DCs). During chemotherapy or radiotherapy, DCs require signaling through TLR4 and its adaptor MyD88 for efficient processing and cross-presentation of antigen from dying tumor cells. Patients with breast cancer who carry a TLR4 loss-of-function allele relapse more quickly after radiotherapy and chemotherapy than those carrying the normal TLR4 allele. These results delineate a clinically relevant immunoadjuvant pathway triggered by tumor cell death.

To study the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNP) in toll-like receptors (TLR) 2 and 5 genes and the susceptibility to neonatal sepsis. One hundred and fourteen newborn infants who were diagnosed with clinical sepsis (case group) between May 2011 and January 2014 and 172 newborn infants without infection(control group) were enrolled in this study. The polymorphisms of TLR2 (rs5743708 and rs3804099) and TLR5 (rs5744105) were analyzed using a SNaPshot multiplex reaction to compare the genotypic and allelic frequencies between two groups. The relationship between TLR genotypes and susceptibility to sepsis was analyzed by logistic regression models. Significant differences in genotypic frequencies of TLR2 rs3804099 (C/T) and TLR5 rs5744105 (C/G) were found between the two groups (P0.05). The genotype on TLR2 rs5743708 was GG and no mutation was found in both groups. In regression models, birth weight (OR=3.065; Pneonatal sepsis. Sex (OR=1.107, P>0.05), polymorphisms in rs3804099 (OR=0.876; P>0.05) and polymorphisms in rs5744105 (OR=0.820; P>0.05) genes were not risk factors for neonatal sepsis. TLR2 and 5 polymorphisms (rs5743708, rs3804099 and rs5744105) may not serve as the susceptible gene for sepsis in newborn infants.

Understanding the relative role of different evolutionary forces in shaping the level and distribution of functional genetic diversity among natural populations is a key issue in evolutionary and conservation biology. To do so accurately genetic data must be analysed in conjunction with an unambiguous understanding of the historical processes that have acted upon the populations. Here, we focused on diversity at toll-like receptor (TLR) loci, which play a key role in the vertebrate innate immune system and, therefore, are expected to be under pathogen-mediated selection. We assessed TLR variation within and among 13 island populations (grouped into three archipelagos) of Berthelot's pipit, Anthus berthelotii, for which detailed population history has previously been ascertained. We also compared the variation observed with that found in its widespread sister species, the tawny pipit, Anthus campestris. We found strong evidence for positive selection at specific codons in TLR1LA, TLR3 and TLR4. Despite this, we found that at the allele frequency level, demographic history has played the major role in shaping patterns of TLR variation in Berthelot's pipit. Levels of diversity and differentiation within and across archipelagos at all TLR loci corresponded very closely with neutral microsatellite variation and with the severity of the bottlenecks that occurred during colonization. Our study shows that despite the importance of TLRs in combating pathogens, demography can be the main driver of immune gene variation within and across populations, resulting in patterns of functional variation that can persist over evolutionary timescales.

Full Text Available A chemical inhibition model of inflammation is proposed by semi-continuous monitoring the density of toll-like receptor 1 (TLR1 expressed on mammalian cells following bacterial infection to investigate an in vivo-mimicked drug screening system. The inflammation was induced by adding bacterial lysate (e.g., Pseudomonas aeruginosa to a mammalian cell culture (e.g., A549 cell line. The TLR1 density on the same cells was immunochemically monitored up to three cycles under optimized cyclic bacterial stimulation-and-restoration conditions. The assay was carried out by adopting a cell-compatible immunoanalytical procedure and signal generation method. Signal intensity relative to the background control obtained without stimulation was employed to plot the standard curve for inflammation. To suppress the inflammatory response, sodium salicylate, which inhibits nuclear factor-κB activity, was used to prepare the standard curve for anti-inflammation. Such measurement of differential TLR densities was used as a biosensing approach discriminating the anti-inflammatory substance from the non-effector, which was simulated by using caffeic acid phenethyl ester and acetaminophen as the two components, respectively. As the same cells exposed to repetitive bacterial stimulation were semi-continuously monitored, the efficacy and toxicity of the inhibitors may further be determined regarding persistency against time. Therefore, this semi-continuous biosensing model could be appropriate as a substitute for animal-based experimentation during drug screening prior to pre-clinical tests.

Full Text Available It was recently demonstrated that TLR4 activation via dietary lipids triggers inflammatory pathway and alters insulin responsiveness in the fat tissue during obesity. Here, we question whether other TLR family members could participate in the TLR-mediated inflammatory processes occurring in the obese adipose tissue. We thus studied the expression of TLR1, TLR2, TLR4, and TLR6 in adipose tissue. These receptors are expressed in omental and subcutaneous human fat tissue, the expression being higher in the omental tissue, independently of the metabolic status of the subject. We demonstrated a correlation of TLRs expression within and between each depot suggesting a coregulation. Murine 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cells stimulated with Pam3CSK4 induced the expression of some proinflammatory markers. Therefore, beside TLR4, other toll-like receptors are differentially expressed in human fat tissue, and functional in an adipocyte cell line, suggesting that they might participate omental adipose tissue-related inflammation that occurs in obesity.

Full Text Available Liver has a unique vascular system receiving the majority of the blood supply from the gastrointestinal tract through the portal vein and faces continuous exposure to foreign pathogens and commensal bacterial products. These gut-derived antigens stimulate liver cells and result in a distinctive immune response via a family of pattern recognition receptors, the Toll-like receptors (TLRs. TLRs are expressed on Kupffer cells, dendritic cells, hepatic stellate cells, endothelial cells, and hepatocytes in the liver. The crosstalk between gut-derived antigens and TLRs on immune cells trigger a distinctive set of mechanisms to induce immunity, contributing to various acute and chronic liver diseases including liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Accumulating evidence has shown that TLRs stimulation by foreign antigens induces the production of immunoactivating and immunoregulatory cytokines. Furthermore, the immunoregulatory arm of TLR stimulation can also controls excessive tissue damage. With this knowledge at hand, it is important to clarify the dual role of disease-specific TLRs as activators and regulators, especially in the liver. We will review the current understanding of TLR signaling and subsequent immune activation and tolerance by the innate immune system in the liver.

Full Text Available Toll-like receptors (TLRs are crucial for pathogen recognition and downstream signaling to induce effective immunity. The gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori is a paradigm of persistent bacterial infections and chronic inflammation in humans. The chronicity of inflammation during H. pylori infection is related to the manipulation of regulatory cytokines. In general, the early detection of H. pylori by TLRs and other pattern recognition receptors (PRRs is believed to induce a regulatory cytokine or chemokine profile that eventually blocks the resolution of inflammation. H. pylori factors such as LPS, HSP-60, NapA, DNA, and RNA are reported in various studies to be recognized by specific TLRs. However, H. pylori flagellin evades the recognition of TLR5 by possessing a conserved N-terminal motif. Activation of TLRs and resulting signal transduction events lead to the production of pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators through activation of NF-κB, MAP kinases, and IRF signaling pathways. The genetic polymorphisms of these important PRRs are also implicated in the varied outcome and disease progression. Hence, the interplay of TLRs and bacterial factors highlight the complexity of innate immune recognition and immune evasion as well as regulated processes in the progression of associated pathologies. Here we will review this important aspect of H. pylori infection.

Full Text Available Vaccine efficacy is optimized by addition of immune adjuvants. However, although adjuvants have been used for over a century, to date, only few adjuvants are approved for human use, mostly aimed at improving vaccine efficacy and antigen-specific protective antibody production. The mechanism of action of immune adjuvants is diverse, depending on their chemical and molecular nature, ranging from non-specific effects (i.e., antigen depot at the immunization site to specific activation of immune cells leading to improved host innate and adaptive responses. Although the detailed molecular mechanism of action of many adjuvants is still elusive, the discovery of Toll-like receptors (TLRs has provided new critical information on immunostimulatory effect of numerous bacterial components that engage TLRs. These ligands have been shown to improve both the quality and the quantity of host adaptive immune responses when used in vaccine formulations targeted to infectious diseases and cancer that require both humoral and cell-mediated immunity. The potential of such TLR adjuvants in improving the design and the outcomes of several vaccines is continuously evolving, as new agonists are discovered and tested in experimental and clinical models of vaccination. In this review, a summary of the recent progress in development of TLR adjuvants is presented.

Full Text Available Abstract Backgound It has been reported that Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4 deficiency reduces infarct size after myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R. However, measurement of MI/R injury was limited and did not include cardiac function. In a chronic closed-chest model we assessed whether cardiac function is preserved in TLR4-deficient mice (C3H/HeJ following MI/R, and whether myocardial and systemic cytokine expression differed compared to wild type (WT. Results Infarct size (IS in C3H/HeJ assessed by TTC staining after 60 min ischemia and 24h reperfusion was significantly smaller than in WT. Despite a smaller infarct size, echocardiography showed no functional difference between C3H/HeJ and WT. Left-ventricular developed pressure measured with a left-ventricular catheter was lower in C3H/HeJ (63.0 ± 4.2 mmHg vs. 77.9 ± 1.7 mmHg in WT, p Conclusion These results demonstrate that, although a mutant TLR4 signaling cascade reduces myocardial IS and serum cytokine levels, it does not preserve myocardial function. The change in inflammatory response, secondary to a non-functional TLR-4 receptor, may contribute to the observed dichotomy between infarct size and function in the TLR-4 mutant mouse.

The human gastrointestinal (GI) tract is colonized by non-pathogenic commensal microflora and frequently exposed to many pathogenic organisms.For the maintenance of GI homeostasis, the host must discriminate between pathogenic and non-pathogenic organisms and initiate effective and appropriate immune and inflammatory responses. Mammalian toll-like receptors (TLRs) are members of the pattern-recognition receptor (PRR) family that plays a central role in the initiation of innate cellular immune responses and the subsequent adaptive immune responses to microbial pathogens. Recent studies have shown that gastrointestinal epithelial cells express almost all TLR subtypes characterized to date and that the expression and activation of TLRs in the GI tract are tightly and coordinately regulated. This review summarizes the current understanding of the crucial dual roles of TLRs in the development of host innate and adaptive immune responses to GI infections and the maintenance of the immune tolerance to commensal bacteria through down-regulation of surface expression of TLRs in intestinal epithelial cells.

Full Text Available Aim: To analyze the promoter sequence of toll-like receptor (TLR genes in Vechur cattle, an indigenous breed of Kerala with the sequence of Bos taurus and access the differences that could be attributed to innate immune responses against bovine mastitis. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from Jugular vein of Vechur cattle, maintained at Vechur cattle conservation center of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, using an acid-citrate-dextrose anticoagulant. The genomic DNA was extracted, and polymerase chain reaction was carried out to amplify the promoter region of TLRs. The amplified product of TLR2, 4, and 9 promoter regions was sequenced by Sanger enzymatic DNA sequencing technique. Results: The sequence of promoter region of TLR2 of Vechur cattle with the B. taurus sequence present in GenBank showed 98% similarity and revealed variants for four sequence motifs. The sequence of the promoter region of TLR4 of Vechur cattle revealed 99% similarity with that of B. taurus sequence but not reveals significant variant in motifregions. However, two heterozygous loci were observed from the chromatogram. Promoter sequence of TLR9 gene also showed 99% similarity to B. taurus sequence and revealed variants for four sequence motifs. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that significant variation in the promoter of TLR2 and 9 genes in Vechur cattle breed and may potentially link the influence the innate immunity response against mastitis diseases.

Full Text Available The mucosal surface of the female genital tract is a complex biosystem, which provides a barrier against the outside world and participates in both innate and acquired immune defense systems. This mucosal compartment has adapted to a dynamic, non-sterile environment challenged by a variety of antigenic/inflammatory stimuli associated with sexual intercourse and endogenous vaginal microbiota. Rapid innate immune defenses against microbial infection usually involve the recognition of invading pathogens by specific pattern-recognition receptors recently attributed to the family of Toll-like receptors (TLRs. TLRs recognize conserved pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs synthesized by microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses as well as endogenous ligands associated with cell damage. Members of the TLR family, which includes 10 human TLRs identified to date, recognize distinct PAMPs produced by various bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens. The available literature regarding the innate immune system of the female genital tract during human reproductive processes was reviewed in order to identify studies specifically related to the expression and function of TLRs under normal as well as pathological conditions. Increased understanding of these molecules may provide insight into site-specific immunoregulatory mechanisms in the female reproductive tract.

Ischemic acute kidney injury (AKI) triggers an inflammatory response which exacerbates injury that requires increased expression of endothelial adhesion molecules. To study this further, we used in situ hybridization, immunohistology, and isolated endothelial cells, and found increased Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression on endothelial cells of the vasa rectae of the inner stripe of the outer medulla of the kidney 4 h after reperfusion. This increase was probably due to reactive oxygen species, known to be generated early during ischemic AKI, because the addition of hydrogen peroxide increased TLR4 expression in MS1 microvascular endothelial cells in vitro. Endothelial TLR4 may regulate adhesion molecule (CD54 and CD62E) expression as they were increased on endothelia of wild-type but not TLR4 knockout mice in vivo. Further, the addition of high-mobility group protein B1, a TLR4 ligand released by injured cells, increased adhesion molecule expression on endothelia isolated from wild-type but not TLR4 knockout mice. TLR4 was localized to proximal tubules in the cortex and outer medulla after 24 h of reperfusion. Thus, at least two different cell types express TLR4, each of which contributes to renal injury by temporally different mechanisms during ischemic AKI. PMID:20927041

Full Text Available Abstract Background Cardiac inflammation and generation of oxidative stress are known to contribute to trastuzumab (herceptin induced cardiac toxicity. Toll-like receptors (TLRs are a part of the innate immune system and are involved in cardiac stress reactions. Since TLR4 might play a relevant role in cardiac inflammatory signaling, we investigated whether or not TLR4 is involved in trastuzumab induced cardiotoxicity. Methods Seven days after a single injection of herceptin (2 mg/kg; i.p., left ventricular pressure volume loops were measured in HeN compotent (TLR4+/+ and HeJ mutant (TLR4-/- treated with trastuzumab and control mice. Immunofluorescent staining for monocyte infiltration and analyses of plasma by (ELISAs for different chemokines including: MCP-1and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α, Western immunoblotting assay for ICAM-1, and used troponin I for cardiac injury marker. Results Trastuzumab injection resulted in an impairment of left ventricular function in TLR-4 competent (HeN, in contrast TLR4-/- trastuzumab mice showed improved left ventricular function EF%, CO; p -/-; p -/-, marked reduction of myocardial troponin-I levels in TLR4-deficient mice. Data are presented as means ± SE; n = 8 in each group p Conclusions Treatment with trastuzumab induces an inflammatory response that contributes to myocardial tissue TLR4 mediates chemokine expression (TNF-α, MCP-1and ICAM-1, so in experimental animals TLR4 deficiency improves left ventricular function and attenuates pathophysiological key mechanisms in trastuzumab induced cardiomyopathy.

The innate system's recognition of non-self and danger signals is mediated by a limited number of germ-line encoded pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that recognize pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are single, non-catalytic, membrane-spanning PRRs present in invertebrates and vertebrates. They act by specifically recognizing PAMPs of a variety of microbes and activate signaling cascades to induce innate immunity. A large number of TLRs have been identified in various aquatic animals of phyla Cnidaria, Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda, Echinodermata and Chordata. TLRs of aquatic and warm-blooded higher animals exhibit some distinctive features due to their diverse evolutionary lineages. However, majority of them share conserve signaling pathways in pathogen recognition and innate immunity. Functional analysis of novel TLRs in aquatic animals is very important in understanding the comparative immunology between warm-blooded and aquatic animals. In additions to innate immunity, recent reports have highlighted the additional roles of TLRs in adaptive immunity. Therefore, vaccines against many critical diseases of aquatic animals may be made more effective by supplementing TLR activators which will stimulate dendritic cells. This article describes updated information of TLRs in aquatic animals and their structural and functional relationship with warm-blooded animals.

Full Text Available Therapeutic hypothermia protects neurons after injury to the central nervous system (CNS. Microglia express toll-like receptors (TLRs that play significant roles in the pathogenesis of sterile CNS injury. To elucidate the possible mechanisms involved in the neuroprotective effect of therapeutic hypothermia, we examined the effects of hypothermic culture on TLR3-activated microglial release of interferon (IFN-β and nitric oxide (NO, which are known to be associated with neuronal cell death. When rat or mouse microglia were cultured under conditions of hypothermia (33°C and normothermia (37°C with a TLR3 agonist, polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid, the production of IFN-β and NO in TLR3-activated microglia at 48 h was decreased by hypothermia compared with that by normothermia. In addition, exposure to recombinant IFN-β and sodium nitroprusside, an NO donor, caused death of rat neuronal pheochromocytoma PC12 cells in a concentration-dependent manner after 24 h. Taken together, these results suggest that the attenuation of microglial production of IFN-β and NO by therapeutic hypothermia leads to the inhibition of neuronal cell death.

Full Text Available Maternal starvation is a significant cause of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR in the world and increases the risk of infection in the neonate. We examined the effect of maternal starvation on Toll like receptor (TLR4 expression in hepatic, splenic and intestinal tissues obtained from the adult IUGR offspring of prenatal calorie restricted rats. The hepatic TLR4 protein concentration was undetectable in the IUGR rats that had restricted milk intake during the suckling period (SM/SP; n = 4, p < 0.05 as compared to the normal growth controls (CM/CP; n=4, and access to ad lib milk intake during the sucking period partially corrected the hepatic TLR4 expression (SM/CP; n = 4. IUGR had no effect on the splenic (n = 4 or intestinal (n = 4 TLR4 mRNA levels. In the liver, IUGR led to a 20% increase in baseline tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α mRNA expression ( p < 0.03 and a 70% increase in interleukin-1β (IL-1β mRNA expression ( p < 0.008 as compared to the control rats (CM/CP; n = 7. LPS-induced hepatic TNF-α release was significantly higher in SM/SP as compared to CM/CP. We propose that IUGR dysregulates TLR4 expression and function in the offspring, which may help explain the increased risk of Gram-negative sepsis and inflammatory diseases in this population.

Full Text Available J Bustamante,1 E Tamayo,2 J Herreros3,41Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Hospital Universitario La Princesa, Madrid, 2Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Hospital Clinico Universitario de Valladolid, Valladolid, 3Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Hospital Universitario Valdecilla, Santander, 4Biomedical Engineering Institute of Santander, Santander, SpainAbstract: The development of techniques for genomics study makes it possible for us to further our knowledge about the physiopathology of various immunological or infectious diseases. These techniques improve our understanding of the development and evolution of such diseases, including those of cardiovascular origin, whilst they help to bring about the design of new therapeutic strategies. We are reviewing the genetic alterations of immunity in said field, and focusing on the signaling pathway of toll-like receptors because not only does this play a decisive role in response to microorganisms, it is also heavily involved in modulating the inflammatory response to tissue damage, a side effect of numerous cardiovascular diseases. These alterations in tissue homeostasis are present under a wide range of circumstances, such as reperfusion ischemia (myocardial infarction phenomena, arteriosclerosis, or valvulopathy.Keywords: genome-wide association study, single-nucleotide polymorphism, innate immune system, ischemic/reperfusion, myocardial infarction

OBJECTIVE: To outline the emerging significance of Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathways in surgical diseases. DATA SOURCES: A systematic review of the literature was undertaken by searching the MEDLINE database for the period 1966 to 2005 without language restriction. STUDY SELECTION: Original or review articles that described experimental data on the activation of TLR signaling pathways in surgically relevant diseases were selected for inclusion in this review. DATA EXTRACTION: Data were obtained from peer-reviewed articles and references. DATA SYNTHESIS: The role of TLRs in the recognition of pathogens renders them a key figure in the activation of both innate and adaptive immune responses during sepsis. However, emerging evidence points to fundamentally important roles in ulcerative colitis, Crohn disease, and Helicobacter pylori infection in the gastrointestinal tract and in the development of atherosclerotic plaques in the cardiovascular system. Furthermore, recent studies suggest that the regulation of the TLR pathway fulfills a central role in anticancer immunotherapy and in organ rejection after transplantation. CONCLUSION: Given the clinical significance of TLR pathways, the targeting of individual molecular components is likely to offer a broad range of future therapeutic modalities.

Full Text Available Tissue fibrosis and chronic inflammation are common causes of progressive organ damage, including progressive renal disease, leading to loss of physiological functions. Recently, it was shown that Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2 is expressed in the kidney and activated by endogenous danger signals. The expression and function of TLR2 during renal fibrosis and chronic inflammation has however not yet been elucidated. Therefore, we studied TLR2 expression in human and murine progressive renal diseases and explored its role by inducing obstructive nephropathy in TLR2(-/- or TLR2(+/+ mice. We found that TLR2 is markedly upregulated on tubular and tubulointerstitial cells in patients with chronic renal injury. In mice with obstructive nephropathy, renal injury was associated with a marked upregulation and change in distribution of TLR2 and upregulation of murine TLR2 danger ligands Gp96, biglycan, and HMGB1. Notably, TLR2 enhanced inflammation as reflected by a significantly reduced influx of neutrophils and production of chemokines and TGF-beta in kidneys of TLR2(-/- mice compared with TLR2(+/+ animals. Although, the obstructed kidneys of TLR2(-/- mice had less interstitial myofibroblasts in the later phase of obstructive nephropathy, tubular injury and renal matrix accumulation was similar in both mouse strains. Together, these data demonstrate that TLR2 can initiate renal inflammation during progressive renal injury and that the absence of TLR2 does not affect the development of chronic renal injury and fibrosis.

Full Text Available Dendritic cells (DCs play a major role in the innate immune response since they recognize a broad repertoire of PAMPs mainly via Toll-like receptors (TLRs. During Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori infection, TLRs have been shown to be important to control cytokine response particularly in murine DCs. In the present study we analyzed the effect of blocking TLRs on human DCs. Co-incubation of human DCs with H. pylori resulted in the release of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-12p70, IL-6 and IL-10. Release of IL-12p70 and IL-10 was predominantly influenced when TLR4 signaling was blocked by adding specific antibodies, suggesting a strong influence on subsequent T cell responses through TLR4 activation on DCs. Co-incubation of H. pylori-primed DC with allogeneic CD4+ T cells resulted in the production of IFN-γ and IL-17A as well as the expression of Foxp3, validating a mixed Th1/Th17 and Treg response in vitro. Neutralization of TLR4 during H. pylori infection resulted in significantly decreased amounts of IL-17A and IFN-γ and reduced levels of Foxp3-expressing and IL-10-secreting T cells. Our findings suggest that DC cytokine secretion induced upon TLR4-mediated recognition of H. pylori influences inflammatory and regulatory T cell responses, which might facilitate the chronic bacterial persistence.

Virus, bacteria, fungi and parasites are pathogens to which individuals are constantly exposed. Pathogen recognition by cells of the immune system is carried out by a growing list of pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) which are evolutionally conserved and absent in mammals, named pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). PRRs can be found in extracellular matrix, within cytoplasm and on cellular membranes. Among the membrane PRRs, Toll-like receptors (TLRs) induce the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the expression of co-stimulatory molecules upon stimulation on mature cells, resulting in the triggering of immune danger signals. Recent reports showing the regulation of hematopoiesis by TLRs, suggest that they are involved in the most primitive stages of hematopoietic development and contribute to emergent replenishment of innate immune cells. These data entail TLRs to hematopoiesis and also revolutionize our understanding of the mechanisms governing infection responses. In this review, we focus on the most relevant findings from the TLR discovery to the use of TLR agonists and antagonists in novel therapies for infectious, autoimmune and neoplastic diseases. Of special interest is the research progress in the TLR functional expression by primitive hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are important in barrier homeostasis, but their role in airborne allergies is not fully understood. The aim was to evaluate baseline and allergen-induced expression of TLR proteins in nasal epithelium during allergic rhinitis. Nineteen otherwise healthy non-smoking volunteers both allergic to birch pollen and non-allergic controls were enrolled. We took nasal biopsies before and after off-seasonal intranasal birch pollen or diluent challenge. The expression of epithelial TLR1-7, TLR9-10, and MyD88 proteins was immunohistochemically evaluated from the nasal biopsies. The TLR1-3 and TLR5-10 mRNAs were observed by RNA-microarray. Baseline epithelial expression of TLR proteins was wide and identical in controls and atopics. After off-seasonal intranasal birch pollen challenge, a negative change in the expression score of TLR1 and TLR6 proteins was detected in the atopic group. TLR mRNA expression was not affected by birch pollen challenge. Nasal epithelium seems to express all known TLRs. The mechanisms by which TLR1, and TLR6 proteins could affect pollen allergen transport need further studies.

Full Text Available Toll-like receptor (TLR are responsible for recognizing various molecular patterns associated with pathogens. Their expression have been detected in skin cells such as keratinocytes and melanocytes. Numerous experimental studies demonstrate the key role of TLRs in the pathogenesis of immune diseases, including psoriasis. The objective of this study is to analyze the associations of polymorphisms in TLR7 gene and the risk of psoriasis development. DNA samples were collected from 138 patients with psoriasis and 317 healthy controls. Genotyping of rs179003, rs179008, rs179020, rs850632, rs12013728 polymorphic loci in TLR7 gene was performed using the SNPlex™method (AB, USA. SNP in the TLR7 gene rs179008 (Gln11Leu was associated with psoriasis in entire psoriasis, late onset and sporadic subgroups (Рс = 0.0065, OR = 1.95; Рс = 0.0004, OR = 2.50; Рс = 0.0078, OR = 2.2, respectively. In conclusion, this study is the first to identify genetic variants of the TLR7 gene significantly associated with psoriasis.

Full Text Available Background Pityriasis rosea (PR is a common papulosquamous skin disease in which an infective agent may be implicated. Toll-like receptors (TLRs play an important role in immune responses and in the pathophysiology of inflammatory skin diseases. Our aim was to determine the possible roles of TLRs 3, 7, 8, and 9 in the pathogenesis of PR. Methods Twenty-four PR patients and 24 healthy individuals (as controls were included in this case control study. All recruits were subjected to routine laboratory investigations. Biopsies were obtained from one active PR lesion and from healthy skin of controls for the detection of TLR 3, 7, 8, and 9 gene expression using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results This study included 24 patients (8 females and 16 males with active PR lesions, with a mean age of 28.62 years. Twenty four healthy age- and sex-matched individuals were included as controls (8 females and 16 males, with a mean age of 30.83 years. The results of the routine laboratory tests revealed no significant differences between both groups. Significantly elevated expression of all studied TLRs were detected in PR patients relative to healthy controls (p < .001. Conclusions TLRs 3, 7, 8, and 9 might be involved in the pathogenesis of PR.

Background Pityriasis rosea (PR) is a common papulosquamous skin disease in which an infective agent may be implicated. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play an important role in immune responses and in the pathophysiology of inflammatory skin diseases. Our aim was to determine the possible roles of TLRs 3, 7, 8, and 9 in the pathogenesis of PR. Methods Twenty-four PR patients and 24 healthy individuals (as controls) were included in this case control study. All recruits were subjected to routine laboratory investigations. Biopsies were obtained from one active PR lesion and from healthy skin of controls for the detection of TLR 3, 7, 8, and 9 gene expression using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results This study included 24 patients (8 females and 16 males) with active PR lesions, with a mean age of 28.62 years. Twenty four healthy age- and sex-matched individuals were included as controls (8 females and 16 males, with a mean age of 30.83 years). The results of the routine laboratory tests revealed no significant differences between both groups. Significantly elevated expression of all studied TLRs were detected in PR patients relative to healthy controls (p < .001). Conclusions TLRs 3, 7, 8, and 9 might be involved in the pathogenesis of PR. PMID:28192646

Mainly Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial infections, but also other infections such as with fungal or viral pathogens, can cause the life-threatening clinical condition of septic shock. Transgression of the host immune response from a local level limited to the pathogen's place of entry to the systemic level is recognised as a major mode of action leading to sepsis. This view has been established upon demonstration of the capacity of specific pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) to elicit symptoms of septic shock upon systemic administration. Immune stimulatory PAMPs are agonists of soluble, cytoplasmic, as well as/or cell membrane-anchored and/or -spanning pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs). However, reflection of pathogen-host crosstalk triggering sepsis pathogenesis upon an infection by a host response to challenge with an isolated PAMP is incomplete. Therefore, an experimental model more reflective of pathogen-host interaction requires experimental host confrontation with a specific pathogen in its viable form resulting in a collective stimulation of a variety of specific PRRs. This chapter describes methods to analyse innate pathogen sensing by the host on both a cellular and systemic level.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) mediate the induction of the innate immune system in response to pathogens, injury and disease. However, they also play non-immune roles and are expressed in the central nervous system (CNS) during prenatal and postnatal stages including adulthood. Little is known about their roles in the CNS in the absence of pathology. Several members of the TLR family have been implicated in the development of neural and cognitive function although the contribution of TLR9 to these processes has not been well defined. The current studies were undertaken to determine whether developmental TLR9 deficiency affects motor, sensory or cognitive functions. We report that TLR9 deficient (TLR9(-/-)) mice show a hyper-responsive sensory and motor phenotype compared to wild type (TLR9(+/+)) controls. This is indicated by hypersensitivity to thermal stimuli in the hot plate paw withdrawal test, enhanced motor-responsivity under anxious conditions in the open field test and greater sensorimotor reactivity in the acoustic startle response. Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle response was also enhanced, which indicates abnormal sensorimotor gating. In addition, subtle, but significant, gait abnormalities were noted in the TLR9(-/-) mice on the horizontal balance beam test with higher foot slip numbers than TLR9(+/+) controls. In contrast, spatial learning and memory, assessed by the Morris water maze, was similar in the TLR9(-/-) and TLR9(+/+) mice. These findings support the notion that TLR9 is important for the appropriate development of sensory and motor behaviors.

Full Text Available Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease that can be initiated by excessive activation of endosomal toll-like receptors (TLRs, particularly TLR7, TLR8, and TLR9. Therefore, inhibitors of endosomal TLR activation are being investigated for their ability to treat this disease. The currently approved biological drugs adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab, ustekinumab, ixekizumab, and secukizumab are antibodies against effector cytokines that participate in the initiation and development of psoriasis. Several immune modulatory oligonucleotides and small molecular weight compounds, including IMO-3100, IMO-8400, and CPG-52364, that block the interaction between endosomal TLRs and their ligands are under clinical investigation for their effectiveness in the treatment of psoriasis. In addition, several chemical compounds, including AS-2444697, PF-05387252, PF-05388169, PF-06650833, ML120B, and PHA-408, can inhibit TLR signaling. Although these compounds have demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity in animal models, their therapeutic potential for the treatment of psoriasis has not yet been tested. Recent studies demonstrated that natural compounds derived from plants, fungi, and bacteria, including mustard seed, Antrodia cinnamomea extract, curcumin, resveratrol, thiostrepton, azithromycin, and andrographolide, inhibited psoriasis-like inflammation induced by the TLR7 agonist imiquimod in animal models. These natural modulators employ different mechanisms to inhibit endosomal TLR activation and are administered via different routes. Therefore, they represent candidate psoriasis drugs and might lead to the development of new treatment options.

The gram-negative bacterium Helicobacter pylori(H. pylori) infects the stomachs of approximately half of the world’s population. Although infection induces an immune response that contributes to chronic gastric inflammation, the response is not sufficient to eliminate the bacterium. H. pylori infection causes peptic ulcers, gastric cancer and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. Disease outcome is linked to the severity of the host inflammatory response. Gastric epithelial cells represent the first line of innate immune defence against H. pylori, and respond to infection by initiating numerous cell signalling cascades, resulting in cytokine induction and the subsequent recruitment of inflamma-tory cells to the gastric mucosa. Pathogen recognition receptors of the toll-like receptor(TLR) family mediate many of these cell signalling events. This review dis-cusses recent findings on the role of various TLRs in the recognition of H. pylori in distinct cell types, describes the TLRs responsible for the recognition of individual H. pylori components and outlines the influence of innate immune activation on the subsequent development of the adaptive immune response. The mechanistic iden-tification of host mediators of H. pylori-induced patho-genesis has the potential to reveal drug targets and opportunities for therapeutic intervention or prevention of H. pylori-associated disease by means of vaccines or immunomodulatory therapy.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) engage networks of transcriptional regulators to induce genes essential for antimicrobial immunity. We report that NFAT5, previously characterized as an osmostress responsive factor, regulates the expression of multiple TLR-induced genes in macrophages independently of osmotic stress. NFAT5 was essential for the induction of the key antimicrobial gene Nos2 (inducible nitric oxide synthase [iNOS]) in response to low and high doses of TLR agonists but is required for Tnf and Il6 mainly under mild stimulatory conditions, indicating that NFAT5 could regulate specific gene patterns depending on pathogen burden intensity. NFAT5 exhibited two modes of association with target genes, as it was constitutively bound to Tnf and other genes regardless of TLR stimulation, whereas its recruitment to Nos2 or Il6 required TLR activation. Further analysis revealed that TLR-induced recruitment of NFAT5 to Nos2 was dependent on inhibitor of κB kinase (IKK) β activity and de novo protein synthesis, and was sensitive to histone deacetylases. In vivo, NFAT5 was necessary for effective immunity against Leishmania major, a parasite whose clearance requires TLRs and iNOS expression in macrophages. These findings identify NFAT5 as a novel regulator of mammalian anti-pathogen responses.

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) activation by bacterial infection, or by sterile inflammatory insult is a primary trigger of spontaneous preterm birth. Here we utilize mouse models to investigate the efficacy of a novel small molecule TLR4 antagonist, (+)-naloxone, the non-opioid isomer of the opioid receptor antagonist (-)-naloxone, in infection-associated preterm birth. Treatment with (+)-naloxone prevented preterm delivery and alleviated fetal demise in utero elicited by i.p. LPS administration in late gestation. A similar effect with protection from preterm birth and perinatal death, and partial correction of reduced birth weight and postnatal mortality, was conferred by (+)-naloxone administration after intrauterine administration of heat-killed E. coli. Local induction by E. coli of inflammatory cytokine genes Il1b, Il6, Tnf and Il10 in fetal membranes was suppressed by (+)-naloxone, and cytokine expression in the placenta, and uterine myometrium and decidua, was also attenuated. These data demonstrate that inhibition of TLR4 signaling with the novel TLR4 antagonist (+)-naloxone can suppress the inflammatory cascade of preterm parturition, to prevent preterm birth and perinatal death. Further studies are warranted to investigate the utility of small molecule inhibition of TLR-driven inflammation as a component of strategies for fetal protection and delaying preterm birth in the clinical setting.

Full Text Available Objective To investigate the expression of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4 protein in hippocampus of rat model with temporal lobe epilepsy after status epilepticus (SE and explore its function in the pathogenesis of temporal lobe epilepsy. Methods Rat model with temporal lobe epilepsy was induced by lithium chloride (LiCl-pilocarpine. Total protein was extracted from hippocampus and rat brain slices were obtained at different time points (0, 1, 6, 12, 24, 48 h and 7, 10, 30, 50 d after SE. Western blotting and immunohistochemical staining were used for detection of the expression of TLR4 in the hippocampus. Results The results of Western blotting showed the TLR4 protein expression at 0, 1, 6, 12, 24, 48 h and 7, 10, 30 d after SE was higher than that in the control group (P 0.05. Conclusion TLR4 protein was mainly expressed in cytoplasm of pyramidal cells in CA3 area of hippocampus. TLR4 protein expression in the hippocampus was increased in varying degrees at different observation time points after SE, indicating that TLR4 may play an important role in the development of epilepsy.

Full Text Available Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4 is an important sensor of Gram-negative bacteria and can trigger activation of the innate immune system. Increased activation of TLR4 can lead to the induction of oxidative stress. Herein, the pathway whereby TLR4 affects antioxidant activity was studied. In TLR4-overexpressing sheep, TLR4 expression was found to be related to the integration copy number when monocytes were challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS. Consequently, production of malondialdehyde (MDA was increased, which could increase the activation of prooxidative stress enzymes. Meanwhile, activation of an antioxidative enzyme, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px, was increased. Real-time PCR showed that expression of activating protein-1 (AP-1 and the antioxidative-related genes was increased. By contrast, the expression levels of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1 and catalase (CAT were reduced. In transgenic sheep, glutathione (GSH levels were dramatically reduced. Furthermore, transgenic sheep were intradermally injected with LPS in each ear. The amounts of inflammatory infiltrates were correlated with the number of TLR4 copies that were integrated in the genome. Additionally, the translation of γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (γ-GCS was increased. Our findings indicated that overexpression of TLR4 in sheep could ameliorate oxidative injury through GSH secretion that was induced by LPS stimulation. Furthermore, TLR4 promoted γ-GCS translation through the AP-1 pathway, which was essential for GSH synthesis.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the Gram-negative bacterial outer membrane glycolipid, induces sepsis through its interaction with myeloid differentiation protein-2 (MD-2) and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). To block interaction between LPS/MD-2 complex and TLR4, we designed and generated soluble fusion proteins capable of binding MD-2, dubbed TLR4 decoy receptor (TOY) using 'the Hybrid leucine-rich repeats (LRR) technique'. TOY contains the MD-2 binding ectodomain of TLR4, the LRR motif of hagfish variable lymphocyte receptor (VLR), and the Fc domain of IgG1 to make it soluble, productive, and functional. TOY exhibited strong binding to MD-2, but not to the extracellular matrix (ECM), resulting in a favorable pharmacokinetic profile in vivo. TOY significantly extended the lifespan, when administered in either preventive or therapeutic manners, in both the LPS- and cecal ligation/puncture-induced sepsis models in mice. TOY markedly attenuated LPS-triggered NF-kappaB activation, secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, and thrombus formation in multiple organs. Taken together, the targeting strategy for sequestration of LPS/MD-2 complex using the decoy receptor TOY is effective in treating LPS- and bacteria-induced sepsis; furthermore, the strategy used in TOY development can be applied to the generation of other novel decoy receptor proteins.

Signaling by two of the most important bacteria-sensing TLRs, TLR2 and TLR4, involves two adaptor proteins, MyD88 adaptor-like (Mal) and Toll/IL-1 receptor (TIR) domain-containing adaptor-inducing IFN-beta (Trif)-related adaptor molecule (TRAM). Recently, new insights into the functioning of these two adapters have emerged. Mal is required by both TLRs to act as a bridge to recruit the adaptor MyD88, leading ultimately to NF-kappaB activation. Similarly, TRAM acts as a bridge to recruit TRIF to the TLR4 complex, leading to activation of the transcription factor IFN regulatory factor 3. Consistent with Mal and TRAM being key points of control, recent evidence suggests that they are subject to regulation by phosphorylation. Further, a variant in Mal in humans has been found to protect against multiple infectious diseases. Finally, another TIR domain-containing adaptor, sterile alpha and HEAT/armadillo motif protein (SARM), has been shown to act as an inhibitor of TRIF-dependent signaling. These recent discoveries add to the complexity of TLR signaling and highlight specific control mechanisms for TLR2 and TLR4 signaling.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are pattern-recognition receptors that trigger innate immune responses and stimulate adaptive immunity. Currently, only partial information is available for sheep TLR genes. The aims of this study were to clone and sequence the coding regions of all 10 ovine TLR genes and compare the sequences with those of other mammalian species. The coding sequences for ovine TLRs 1-10 and the 3'-untranslated sequences for ovine TLR1, 6 and 10 have been obtained. Ovine TLR6 exhibited a distinctive 3'-end sequence that resembled a rare splice variant of bovine TLR6, but appeared to represent the major TLR6 transcript in the sheep. qRT-PCR confirmed the presence of TLR transcripts in blood mononuclear cells, alveolar macrophages, keratinocytes and lymph node tissues. Comparative sequence analysis showed that the sheep TLRs share high sequence similarity with the respective cattle, pig, human and mouse genes and are likely derived from the same ancestral sequence.

Full Text Available Toll-like receptor (TLR 3 agonists emerged as attractive candidates for vaccination strategies against tumors and pathogens. An important mechanism of action of such agonists is based on the activation of TLR3-expressing dendritic cells (DCs, which display a unique capacity to induce and stimulate T-cell responses. In this context, it has been demonstrated that targeting of TLR3 by double-stranded RNA such as poly(I:C results in potent activation of DCs. Major disadvantages of poly(I:C comprise its undefined chemical structure and very poor homogeneity, with subsequent unpredictable pharmacokinetics and high toxicity. In the present study, we evaluated the physicochemical properties and biological activity of the novel TLR3 agonist RGC100. RGC100 has a defined chemical structure, with a defined length (100 bp and molecular weight (64.9 KDa and a good solubility. RGC100 is stable in serum and activates myeloid DCs through TLR3 targeting, as evidenced by gene silencing experiments. Activation of mouse and human myeloid CD1c+ DCs by RGC100 leads to secretion of several proinflammatory cytokines. In addition, RGC100 improves the ability of CD1c+ DCs to stimulate T-cell proliferation. Due to its physicochemical properties and its immunostimulatory properties, RGC100 may represent a promising adjuvant for prophylactic and therapeutic vaccination strategies.

Full Text Available As well as being the primary signaling receptor for bacterial endotoxin or lipopolysaccharide Toll-like receptor 4 function is modulated by numerous factors not only in the context of microbial pathogenesis but also autoimmune and allergic diseases. TLR4 is subject to multiple levels of endogenous control and regulation from biosynthesis and trafficking to signal transduction and degradation. On the other hand regulation of TLR4 activity breaks down during Gram –ve sepsis leading to systemic damage, multi organ failure and death. In this article we review how TLR4 traffics from the early secretory pathway, the cis/trans Golgi to the cell surface and endolysosomal compartments. We will present evidence about how these processes influence signaling and can potentially lead to ligand independent constitutive activation that may contribute to pathogenesis in sepsis. We will also discuss how sustained signaling may be coupled to endocytosis and consider the potential molecular mechanisms of immuno-modulators that modify TLR4 signalling function including the cat allergen FelD1 and endogenous protein ligands such as the extracellular matrix protein tenascin C and calprotectin (MRP8/14.

Full Text Available The development of vaccines that can enhance immunity to viral pathogens is an important goal. However, the innate molecular pathways that regulate the strength and quality of the immune response remain largely uncharacterized. To define the role of Toll-like receptor (TLR signaling in control of a model retroviral pathogen, Friend virus (FV, I generated mice in which the TLR signaling adapter Myd88 was selectively deleted in dendritic cell (DC or in B cell lineages. Deletion of Myd88 in DCs had little effect on immune control of FV, while B cell specific deletion of Myd88 caused a dramatic increase in viral infectious centers and a significantly reduced antibody response, indicating that B cell-intrinsic TLR signaling plays a crucial role, while TLR signaling in DCs is less important. I then identified the single-stranded RNA sensing protein TLR7 as being required for antibody-mediated control of FV by analyzing mice deficient in TLR7. Remarkably, B cells in infected TLR7-deficient mice upregulated CD69 and CD86 early in infection, but failed to develop into germinal center B cells. CD4 T cell responses were also attenuated in the absence of TLR7, but CD8 responses were TLR7 independent, suggesting the existence of additional pathways for detection of retroviral particles. Together these results demonstrate that the vertebrate immune system detects retroviruses in vivo via TLR7 and that this pathway regulates a key checkpoint controlling development of germinal center B cells.

Full Text Available The Toll-like receptor (TLR 3 plays a critical role in mammalian innate immune response against viral attacks by recognizing double-stranded RNA (dsRNA or its synthetic analog polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly (IratioC. This leads to the activation of MAP kinases and NF-kappaB which results in the induction of type I interferons and proinflammatory cytokines to combat the viral infection. To understand the complex interplay of the various intracellular signaling molecules in the regulation of NF-kappaB and MAP kinases, we developed a computational TLR3 model based upon perturbation-response approach. We curated literature and databases to determine the TLR3 signaling topology specifically for murine macrophages. For initial model creation, we used wildtype temporal activation profiles of MAP kinases and NF-kappaB and, for model testing, used TRAF6 KO and TRADD KO data. From dynamic simulations we predict i the existence of missing intermediary steps between extracellular poly (IratioC stimulation and intracellular TLR3 binding, and ii the presence of a novel pathway which is essential for JNK and p38, but not NF-kappaB, activation. Our work shows activation dynamics of signaling molecules can be used in conjunction with perturbation-response models to decipher novel signaling features of complicated immune pathways.

Full Text Available Toll-like receptors (TLRs play important role in the innate immune system. TLR15 is reported to have a unique role in defense against pathogens, but its structural and evolution characterizations are still poorly understood. In this study, we identified 57 completed TLR15 genes from avian and reptilian genomes. TLR15 clustered into an individual clade and was closely related to family 1 on the phylogenetic tree. Unlike the TLRs in family 1 with the broken asparagine ladders in the middle, TLR15 ectodomain had an intact asparagine ladder that is critical to maintain the overall shape of ectodomain. The conservation analysis found that TLR15 ectodomain had a highly evolutionarily conserved region on the convex surface of LRR11 module, which is probably involved in TLR15 activation process. Furthermore, the protein–protein docking analysis indicated that TLR15 TIR domains have the potential to form homodimers, the predicted interaction interface of TIR dimer was formed mainly by residues from the BB-loops and αC-helixes. Although TLR15 mainly underwent purifying selection, we detected 27 sites under positive selection for TLR15, 24 of which are located on its ectodomain. Our observations suggest the structural features of TLR15 which may be relevant to its function, but which requires further experimental validation.

Sterile-alpha and Armadillo motif containing protein (SARM) was recently identified as the fifth member of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) adaptor family. Whilst the Caenorhabditis elegans SARM homologue, TIR-1, is crucial for efficient immune responses against bacterial infections, human SARM was demonstrated to function as a specific inhibitor of TRIF-dependent TLR signaling. The opposing role of SARM in C. elegans and human is intriguing, prompting us to seek clarification on the enigmatic function of SARM in an ancient species which relies solely on innate immunity for survival. Here, we report the discovery of a primitive but functional SARM (CrSARM) in the immune defense of a "living fossil", the horseshoe crab, Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda. CrSARM shares numerous signature motifs and displays significant homology with vertebrate and invertebrate SARM homologues. CrSARM downregulates TRIF-dependent TLR signaling suggesting the conservation of SARM function from horseshoe crab to human. During infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, CrSARM is rapidly upregulated within 3h and strongly repressed at 6h, coinciding with the timing of bacterial clearance, thus demonstrating its dynamic role in innate immunity. Furthermore, yeast-two-hybrid screening revealed several potential interaction partners of CrSARM implying the role of SARM in downregulating TLR signaling events. Altogether, our study shows that, although C. elegans SARM upregulates immune signaling, its disparate role as a suppressor of TLR signaling, specifically via TRIF and not MyD88, is well-conserved from horseshoe crab to human.

Toll-like receptor (TLR) activation may be an important event in tumor cell immune evasion. TLR2 and TLR4 gene polymorphisms have been related to increased susceptibility to cancer development in various organs. 261 patients and 480 health individuals were investigated for genotype and allelic frequencies of a 22-bp nucleotide deletion (-196 to -174del) in the promoter of TLR2 gene as well as two polymorphisms causing amino acid substitutions (Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile) in TLR4 gene. As far as (-196 to -174del) in TLR2 gene is concerned ins/del and del/del genotypes and del allele were significantly more frequent in breast cancer patients compared to healthy controls. Considering Asp299Gly replacement of TLR4 gene, Gly carriers (Asp/Gly & Gly/Gly genotype) and Gly allele were overrepresented among the breast cancer cases. The -174 to -196del of TLR2 gene and Asp299Gly of TLR4 gene polymorphisms may confer an increased susceptibility to breast cancer development.

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) activation by bacterial infection, or by sterile inflammatory insult is a primary trigger of spontaneous preterm birth. Here we utilize mouse models to investigate the efficacy of a novel small molecule TLR4 antagonist, (+)-naloxone, the non-opioid isomer of the opioid receptor antagonist (−)-naloxone, in infection-associated preterm birth. Treatment with (+)-naloxone prevented preterm delivery and alleviated fetal demise in utero elicited by i.p. LPS administration in late gestation. A similar effect with protection from preterm birth and perinatal death, and partial correction of reduced birth weight and postnatal mortality, was conferred by (+)-naloxone administration after intrauterine administration of heat-killed E. coli. Local induction by E. coli of inflammatory cytokine genes Il1b, Il6, Tnf and Il10 in fetal membranes was suppressed by (+)-naloxone, and cytokine expression in the placenta, and uterine myometrium and decidua, was also attenuated. These data demonstrate that inhibition of TLR4 signaling with the novel TLR4 antagonist (+)-naloxone can suppress the inflammatory cascade of preterm parturition, to prevent preterm birth and perinatal death. Further studies are warranted to investigate the utility of small molecule inhibition of TLR-driven inflammation as a component of strategies for fetal protection and delaying preterm birth in the clinical setting. PMID:27819333

It has been well documented that acupuncture effect is produced through suitable manipulation stimulation of the inserted acupuncture needle, and subsequent activation of the body' s inherent nerve-endocrine-immune regulating network. As a physical stimulus, the acupuncture stimulation exerted onto the local acupoint needs being converted into biological signal first, further reaching favorable regulation in the body. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR 4), an important molecular pattern recognition receptor, can not only recognize the exogenous pathogen-associated molecular patterns but also identify endogenous damage-associated molecular patterns, leading to activation of innate immunity. What's more, TLR 4 has a close relationship with nervous and immune system of the body. In the present paper, the authors make a discussion on the correlation between TLR 4 and acupuncture intervention from 1) TLR 4 and acupuncture signal conversion, 2) TLR 4 and acupuncture clinical phenomenon, and 3) TLR 4 and related mechanisms of acupuncture intervention. Moreover, the authors also think that TLR 4 in the acupoint area may participate in the initiation process of acupuncture stimulation information.

Proteases are important regulators of pulmonary remodeling and airway inflammation. Recently, we have characterized the enzyme prolyl endopeptidase (PE), a serine peptidase, as a critical protease in the generation of the neutrophil chemoattractant tripeptide Pro-Gly-Pro (PGP) from collagen. However, PE has been characterized as a cytosolic enzyme, and the mechanism mediating PE release extracellularly remains unknown. We examined the role of exosomes derived from airway epithelia as a mechanism for PE release and the potential extracellular signals that regulate the release of these exosomes. We demonstrate a specific regulatory pathway of exosome release from airway epithelia and identify PE as novel exosome cargo. LPS stimulation of airway epithelial cells induces release of PE-containing exosomes, which is significantly attenuated by small interfering RNA depletion of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). These differences were recapitulated upon intratracheal LPS administration in mice competent versus deficient for TLR4 signaling. Finally, sputum samples from subjects with cystic fibrosis colonized with Pseudomonas aeruginosa demonstrate elevated exosome content and increased PE levels. This TLR4-based mechanism highlights the first report of nonstochastic release of exosomes in the lung and couples TLR4 activation with matrikine generation. The increased quantity of these proteolytic exosomes in the airways of subjects with chronic lung disease highlights a new mechanism of injury and inflammation in the pathogenesis of pulmonary disorders.

Full Text Available Trophoblast participates in preventing allorecognition and controlling pathogens that compromise fetal wellbeing. Toll-like receptors recognize conserved sequences on the pathogens surface and trigger effector cell functions. Porphyromonas gingivalis is thought to spread to the umbilical cord and cause fetal growth restriction. Objective: To characterize expression and function of TLR-2 and TLR-4 in trophoblast cells from Porphyromonas gingivalisinfected pregnant rats. Methods: Live Porphyromonas gingivalis were challenged into the maxillary first molar subgingival sulcus of female rats before and/or during pregnancy and sacrified on gestational day (GD 14 and 20. Porphyromonas gingivalis was detected by API-ZYM system in the maternal blood of the retro-orbital venous plexus and the umbilical cord. TLR-2 and TLR-4 expressions in trophoblast cells was detected by immunohistochemistry. Results: Porphyromonas gingivalis was first detected in the maternal blood and finally spread to the umbilical cord. Syncytiotrophoblast, spongitrophoblast and trophoblastic giant cell in treated groups had significantly higher expression of TLR-2 and TLR-4 than control group (p<0.05. Conclusion: Syncytiotrophoblast, spongitrophoblast and trophoblastic giant cell are able to recognize Porphyromonas gingivalis through TLR-2 and TLR-4 expression. The ligation of TLR-2 and TLR-4 promoted cytokine production and induced trophoblast cell death. These findings strengthen links between periodontal disease and fetal growth restriction.DOI: 10.14693/jdi.v20i2.150

Full Text Available Background: Porphyromonas gingivalis as a major etiology of periodontal disease can produce virulence factor, lipopolysaccharide/LPS, which is expected to play a role in the intrauterine fetal growth. Trophoblast at the maternal-fetal interface actively participates in response to infection through the expression of a family of natural immune receptors, toll-like receptor (TLR. Purpose: the aims of study were to identify endotoxin concentration in maternal blood serum of Porphyromonas gingivalis-infected pregnant rats, to characterize the TLR-4 expression in trophoblast cells, and to determine its effect on fetal growth. Methods: Female rats were infected with live-Porphyromonas gingivalis at concentration of 2 x 109 cells/ml into subgingival sulcus area of the maxillary first molar before and/or during pregnancy. They were sacrified on 14th and 20th gestational day. Fetuses were evaluated for weight and length. Endotoxin was detected by limulus amebocyte lysate assay in the maternal blood serum. The TLR-4 expression in trophoblast cells was detected by immunohistochemistry. Regulation of Toll-like receptor 5 gene expression and function on mucosal dendritic cells.

Full Text Available Neuroinflammation is a well-recognized consequence of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH, and may be responsible for important complications of SAH. Signaling by Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4-mediated nuclear factor κB (NFκB in microglia plays a critical role in neuronal damage after SAH. Three molecules derived from erythrocyte breakdown have been postulated to be endogenous TLR4 ligands: methemoglobin (metHgb, heme and hemin. However, poor water solubility of heme and hemin, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS contamination have confounded our understanding of these molecules as endogenous TLR4 ligands. We used a 5-step process to obtain highly purified LPS-free metHgb, as confirmed by Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance mass spectrometry and by the Limulus amebocyte lysate assay. Using this preparation, we show that metHgb is a TLR4 ligand at physiologically relevant concentrations. metHgb caused time- and dose-dependent secretion of the proinflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα, from microglial and macrophage cell lines, with secretion inhibited by siRNA directed against TLR4, by the TLR4-specific inhibitors, Rs-LPS and TAK-242, and by anti-CD14 antibodies. Injection of purified LPS-free metHgb into the rat subarachnoid space induced microglial activation and TNFα upregulation. Together, our findings support the hypothesis that, following SAH, metHgb in the subarachnoid space can promote widespread TLR4-mediated neuroinflammation.

Full Text Available Background. Aim was to elucidate the role of toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9 in cardiac inflammation and septic heart failure in a murine model of polymicrobial sepsis. Methods. Sepsis was induced via colon ascendens stent peritonitis (CASP in C57BL/6 wild-type (WT and TLR9-deficient (TLR9-D mice. Bacterial load in the peritoneal cavity and cardiac expression of inflammatory mediators were determined at 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 h. Eighteen hours after CASP cardiac function was monitored in vivo. Sarcomere length of isolated cardiomyocytes was measured at 0.5 to 10 Hz after incubation with heat-inactivated bacteria. Results. CASP led to continuous release of bacteria into the peritoneal cavity, an increase of cytokines, and differential regulation of receptors of innate immunity in the heart. Eighteen hours after CASP WT mice developed septic heart failure characterised by reduction of end-systolic pressure, stroke volume, cardiac output, and parameters of contractility. This coincided with reduced cardiomyocyte sarcomere shortening. TLR9 deficiency resulted in significant reduction of cardiac inflammation and a sustained heart function. This was consistent with reduced mortality in TLR9-D compared to WT mice. Conclusions. In polymicrobial sepsis TLR9 signalling is pivotal to cardiac inflammation and septic heart failure.

Full Text Available Abstract Governments worldwide have been encouraging private participation in transportation infrastructure. To increase the feasibility of a project, public-private partnership (PPP may include guarantees or other support to reduce the risks for private investors. It is necessary to value these opportunities under a real options framework and thereby analyze the project's economic feasibility and risk allocation. However, within this structure, sponsors have an implicit option to abandon the project that should be simultaneously valued. Thus, this article proposes a hypothetical toll road concession in Brazil with a minimum traffic guarantee, a maximum traffic ceiling, and an implicit abandonment option. Different combinations of the minimum and maximum levels are presented, resulting in very high or even negative value added to the net present value (NPV. The abandonment option impacts the level of guarantee to be given. Governments should calibrate an optimal level of guarantees to avoid unnecessarily high costs, protect the returns of the sponsor, and lower the probability of abandonment.

Recently, a possible link between toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) and liver disease was suggested, although it was limited to fibrosis. Based on this report, we investigated whether TLR7 has a pivotal role in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The TLR7 signaling pathway, which is activated by imiquimod (TLR7 ligand) naturally, induced autophagy and released insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) into medium from hepatocytes. Lipid accumulation induced by unsaturated fatty acid (UFA; arachidonic acid:oleic acid = 1:1) in hepatocytes, was attenuated in TLR7 and autophagy activation. Interestingly, TLR7 activation attenuated UFA-induced lipid peroxidation products, such as malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4-Hydroxy-2-Nonenal (4-HNE). To clarify a possible pathway between TLR7 and lipid peroxidation, we treated hepatocytes with MDA and 4-HNE. MDA and 4-HNE induced 2-folds lipid accumulation in UFA-treated hepatocytes via blockade of the TLR7 signaling pathway's IGF-1 release compared to only UFA-treated hepatocytes. In vivo experiments carried out with TLR7 knockout mice produced results consistent with in vitro experiments. In conclusion, TLR7 prevents progression of NAFLD via induced autophagy and released IGF-1 from liver. These findings suggest a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of NAFLD.

Full Text Available Abstract Stimulating the receptors of a single cell generates stochastic intracellular signaling. The fluctuating response has been attributed to the low abundance of signaling molecules and the spatio-temporal effects of diffusion and crowding. At population level, however, cells are able to execute well-defined deterministic biological processes such as growth, division, differentiation and immune response. These data reflect biology as a system possessing microscopic and macroscopic dynamics. This commentary discusses the average population response of the Toll-like receptor (TLR 3 and 4 signaling. Without requiring detailed experimental data, linear response equations together with the fundamental law of information conservation have been used to decipher novel network features such as unknown intermediates, processes and cross-talk mechanisms. For single cell response, however, such simplicity seems far from reality. Thus, as observed in any other complex systems, biology can be considered to possess order and disorder, inheriting a mixture of predictable population level and unpredictable single cell outcomes.

Background: Accumulating evidence supports a role for the immune system in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease. Importantly, recent preclinical studies are now suggesting a specific contribution of inflammation to the α-synuclein-induced pathology seen in this condition. Methods: We used flow cytometry and western blots to detect toll-like receptor 2 and 4 expression in blood and brain samples of Parkinson’s disease patients and mice overexpressing human α-synuclein. To further assess the effects of α-synuclein overexpression on the innate immune system, we performed a longitudinal study using Thy1.2-α-synuclein mice that expressed a bicistronic DNA construct (reporter genes luciferase and green fluorescent protein) under the transcriptional control of the murine toll-like receptor 2 promoter. Results: Here, we report increases in toll-like receptors 2 and 4 expression in circulating monocytes and of toll-like receptor 4 in B cells and in the caudate/putamen of Parkinson’s disease patients. Monthly bioluminescence imaging of Thy1.2-α-synuclein mice showed increasing toll-like receptor 2 expression from 10 months of age, although no change in toll-like receptor 2 and 4 expression was observed in the blood and brain of these mice at 12 months of age. Dexamethasone treatment starting at 5 months of age for 1 month significantly decreased the microglial response in the brain of these mice and promoted functional recovery as observed using a wheel-running activity test. Conclusion: Our results show that toll-like receptors 2 and 4 are modulated in the blood and brain of Parkinson’s disease patients and that overexpression of α-synuclein leads to a progressive microglial response, the inhibition of which has a beneficial impact on some motor phenotypes of an animal model of α-synucleinopathy. PMID:25522431

This study investigates Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-positive macrophages in early recognition and clearance of pulmonary bacteria. TLR4 is a trans-membrane receptor that is the primary recognition molecule for lipopolysaccharide of gram-negative bacteria. The TLR4(Lps-del) mouse strains C57BL10/ScN (B10) and STOCK Abb(tm1) TLR4(Lps-del) Slc11a1(s)(B10 x C2D) are susceptible to pulmonary infections and develop pneumonia when naturally or experimentally infected by the opportunistic bacterium Pasteurella pneumotropica. Since these mice have the TLR4(Lps-del) genotype, we hypothesized that reconstitution of mice with TLR4-positive macrophages would provide resistance to this bacterium. A cultured macrophage cell line (C2D macrophages) and bone marrow cells from C2D mice were adoptively transferred to B10 and B10 x C2D mice by intraperitoneal injection. C2D macrophages increased B10 and B10 x C2D mouse resistance to P. pneumotropica. In C2D-recipient mice there was earlier transcription of tumor necrosis factor alpha and chemokines JE and macrophage inflammatory protein 2 (MIP-2) in the lungs of B10 and B10 x C2D mice, and there was earlier transcription of KC and MIP-1alpha in B10 x C2D mice. In addition, the course of inflammation following experimental Pasteurella challenge was altered in C2D recipients. C2D macrophages also protected B10 x C2D mice, which lack CD4(+) T cells. These data indicate that macrophages are critical for pulmonary immunity and can provide host resistance to P. pneumotropica. This study indicates that TLR4-positive macrophages are important for early recognition and clearance of pulmonary bacterial infections.

The angiogenic response to injury can be studied by culturing rat or mouse aortic explants in collagen gels. Gene expression studies show that aortic angiogenesis is preceded by an immune reaction with overexpression of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and TLR-inducible genes. TLR1, 3, and 6 are transiently upregulated at 24 h whereas TLR2, 4, and 8 expression peaks at 24 h but remains elevated during angiogenesis and vascular regression. Expression of TLR5, 7 and 9 steadily increases over time and is highest during vascular regression. Studies with isolated cells show that TLRs are expressed at higher levels in aortic macrophages compared to endothelial or mural cells with the exception of TLR2 and TLR9 which are more abundant in the aortic endothelium. LPS and other TLR ligands dose dependently stimulate angiogenesis and vascular endothelial growth factor production. TLR9 ligands also influence the behavior of nonendothelial cell types by blocking mural cell recruitment and inducing formation of multinucleated giant cells by macrophages. TLR9-induced mural cell depletion is associated with reduced expression of the mural cell recruiting factor PDGFB. The spontaneous angiogenic response of the aortic rings to injury is reduced in cultures from mice deficient in myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (MyD88), a key adapter molecule of TLRs, and following treatment with an inhibitor of the NFκB pathway. These results suggest that the TLR system participates in the angiogenic response of the vessel wall to injury and may play an important role in the regulation of inflammatory angiogenesis in reactive and pathologic processes.

Full Text Available Toll-like receptor (TLR family plays a key role in innate immunity and various inflammatory responses. TLR4, one of the well-characterized pattern-recognition receptors, can be activated by endogenous damage-associated molecular pattern molecules such as high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1 to sustain sterile inflammation. Evidence suggested that blockade of TLR4 signaling may confer protection against abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA. Herein we aimed to obtain further insight into the mechanism by which TLR4 might promote aneurysm formation. Characterization of the CaCl2-induced AAA model in mice revealed that upregulation of TLR4 expression, localized predominantly to vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs, was followed by a late decline during a 28-day period of AAA development. In vitro, TLR4 expression was increased in VSMCs treated with HMGB1. Knockdown of TLR4 by siRNA attenuated HMGB1-enhanced production of proinflammatory cytokines, specifically interleukin-6 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1, and matrix-degrading matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-2 from VSMCs. In vivo, two different strains of TLR4-deficient (C57BL/10ScNJ and C3H/HeJ mice were resistant to CaCl2-induced AAA formation compared to their respective controls (C57BL/10ScSnJ and C3H/HeN. Knockout of TLR4 reduced interleukin-6 and MCP-1 levels and HMGB1 expression, attenuated macrophage accumulation, and eventually suppressed MMP production, elastin destruction and VSMC loss. Finally, human AAA exhibited higher TLR4 expression that was localized to VSMCs. These data suggest that TLR4 signaling contributes to AAA formation by promoting a proinflammatory status of VSMCs and by inducing proteinase release from VSMCs during aneurysm initiation and development.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Mechanisms underlying pain in chronic pancreatitis (CP are incompletely understood. Our previous data showed that astrocytes were actively involved. However, it was unclear how astrocytic activation was induced in CP conditions. In the present study, we hypothesized that toll-like receptors (TLRs were involved in astrocytic activation and pain behavior in CP-induced pain. Results To test our hypothesis, we first investigated the changes of TLR2-4 in the rat CP model induced by intrapancreatic infusion of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS. Western blot showed that after TNBS infusion, TLR3, but not TLR2 or TLR4, was increased gradually and maintained at a very high level for up to 5 w, which correlated with the changing course of mechanical allodynia. Double immunostaining suggested that TLR3 was highly expressed on astrocytes. Infusion with TLR3 antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (ASO dose-dependently attenuated CP-induced allodynia. CP-induced astrocytic activation in the spinal cord was also significantly suppressed by TLR3 ASO. Furthermore, real-time PCR showed that IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6 and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1 were significantly increased in spinal cord of pancreatic rats. In addition, TLR3 ASO significantly attenuated CP-induced up-regulation of IL-1β and MCP-1. Conclusions These results suggest a probable "TLR3-astrocytes-IL-1β/MCP-1" pathway as a positive feedback loop in the spinal dorsal horn in CP conditions. TLR3-mediated neuroimmune interactions could be new targets for treating persistent pain in CP patients.

Full Text Available Among the 13 TLRs in the vertebrate systems, only TLR4 utilizes both Myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88 and Toll/Interleukin-1 receptor (TIR-domain-containing adapter interferon-β-inducing Factor (TRIF adaptors to transduce signals triggering host-protective immune responses. Earlier studies on the pathway combined various experimental data in the form of one comprehensive map of TLR signaling. But in the absence of adequate kinetic parameters quantitative mathematical models that reveal emerging systems level properties and dynamic inter-regulation among the kinases/phosphatases of the TLR4 network are not yet available. So, here we used reaction stoichiometry-based and parameter independent logical modeling formalism to build the TLR4 signaling network model that captured the feedback regulations, interdependencies between signaling kinases and phosphatases and the outcome of simulated infections. The analyses of the TLR4 signaling network revealed 360 feedback loops, 157 negative and 203 positive; of which, 334 loops had the phosphatase PP1 as an essential component. The network elements' interdependency (positive or negative dependencies in perturbation conditions such as the phosphatase knockout conditions revealed interdependencies between the dual-specific phosphatases MKP-1 and MKP-3 and the kinases in MAPK modules and the role of PP2A in the auto-regulation of Calmodulin kinase-II. Our simulations under the specific kinase or phosphatase gene-deficiency or inhibition conditions corroborated with several previously reported experimental data. The simulations to mimic Yersinia pestis and E. coli infections identified the key perturbation in the network and potential drug targets. Thus, our analyses of TLR4 signaling highlights the role of phosphatases as key regulatory factors in determining the global interdependencies among the network elements; uncovers novel signaling connections; identifies potential drug targets for

The P8 proteoglycolipid complex (P8 PGLC) is a glyconjugate expressed by Leishmania mexicana complex parasites. We previously have shown that vaccination with P8 PGLC provides protection against cutaneous leishmaniasis in susceptible BALB/c mice. However, the biological importance of this complex remains unknown. Here we show that P8 PGLC localizes to the surface of Leishmania pifanoi amastigotes and that upon exposure to macrophages, P8 PGLC binds and induces inflammatory cytokine and chemokine mRNAs such as tumor necrosis factor alpha and RANTES early after stimulation. Our studies indicate that cytokine and chemokine induction is dependent upon Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). Interestingly, key inflammatory cytokines and chemokines (such as interleukin-6 [IL-6], macrophage inflammatory protein 1beta, and beta interferon [IFN-beta]) that can be induced through TLR4 activation were not induced or only slightly upregulated by P8 PGLC. Activation by P8 PGLC does not occur in the presence of TLR4 alone and requires both CD14 and myeloid differentiation protein 2 for signaling; this requirement may be responsible for the limited TLR4 response. This is the first characterization of a TLR4 ligand for Leishmania. In vitro experiments indicate that L. pifanoi amastigotes induce lower levels of cytokines in macrophages in the absence of TLR4; however, notably higher IL-10/IFN-gamma ratios were found for TLR4-deficient mice than for BALB/c mice. Further, increased levels of parasites persist in BALB/c mice deficient in TLR4. Taken together, these results suggest that TLR4 recognition of Leishmania pifanoi amastigotes is important for the control of infection and that this is mediated, in part, through the P8 PGLC.

AIM:To investigate the effect of Tenascin C(TNC)on the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and matrixmetalloproteinases in human cardiac myofibroblasts(CMF).METHODS:CMF were isolated and cultured from patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.Cultured cells were treated with either TNC(0.1μmol/L,24 h)or a recombinant protein corresponding to different domains of the TNC protein;fibrinogen-like globe(FBG)and fibronectin typeⅢ-like repeats(TNⅢ5-7)(both 1μmol/L,24 h).The expression of the proinflammatory cytokines;interleukin(IL)-6,IL-1β,TNFαand the matrix metalloproteinases;MMPs(MMP1,2,3,9,10,MT1-MMP)was assessed using real time RT-PCR and western blot analysis.RESULTS:TNC increased both IL-6 and MMP3(P<0.01)mR NA levels in cultured human CMF but had no significant effect on the other markers studied.The increase in IL-6 mR NA expression was mirrored by an increase in protein secretion as assessed by enzymelinked immunosorbant assay(P<0.01).Treating CMF with the recombinant protein FBG increased IL-6mR NA and protein(P<0.01)whereas the recombinant protein TNⅢ5-7 had no effect.Neither FBG nor TNⅢ5-7 had any significant effect on MMP3 expression.The expression of toll-like receptor 4(TLR4)in human CMF was confirmed by real time RT-PCR,western blot and immunohistochemistry.Pre-incubation of cells with TLR4neutralising antisera attenuated the effect of both TNC and FBG on IL-6 mR NA and protein expression.CONCLUSION:TNC up-regulates IL-6 expression in human CMF,an effect mediated through the FBG domain of TNC and via the TLR4 receptor.

Full Text Available Toll-Like Receptors (TLR are critical elements of the innate arm of the vertebrate immune system. They constitute a multigenic family of receptors which collectively bind a diverse array of--exogeneous as well as endogeneous--ligands. An exponential burst of knowledge has defined their biological role in fight against infections and generation/modulation of auto-immune disorders. Hence, they could at least be conceptually recognized--despite being structurally unrelated - as innate counterparts to Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC molecules--equally recognizing antigenic ligands (albeit structurally more homogeneous i.e., peptides, again derived from self and/or non-self sources--preeminent this time in adaptive immunity. Our great disparities in face of infections and/or susceptibility to auto-immune diseases have provoked an intense search for genetic explanations, in part satisfied by the extraordinary MHC allelic repertoire. An equally in-depth and systematic analysis of TLR diversity is lacking despite numerous independent reports of a growing number of SNPs within these loci. The work described here aims at providing a preliminary picture of the allelic repertoire--and not purely SNPs--of all 10 human TLR coding sequences (with exception of TLR3 within a single cohort of up to 100 individuals. It appears from our work that TLR are unequally polymorphic: TLR2 (DNA alleles: 7/protein alleles: 3, 4 (4/3, 7 (6/3, 8 (9/2 and 9 (8/3 being comparatively least diverse whereas TLR1 (11/10, 5 (14/12, 6 (10/8 and 10 (15/10 show a substantial number of alleles. In addition to allelic assignment of a large number of SNPs, 10 new polymorphic positions were hereby identified. Hence this work depicts a first overview of the diversity of almost all human TLR genes, a prelude for large-scale population genetics as well as genetic association studies.

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Although behavioral risk factors are strongly associated with urinary tract infection (UTI risk, the role of genetics in acquiring this disease is poorly understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To test the hypothesis that polymorphisms in Toll-like receptor (TLR pathway genes are associated with susceptibility to UTIs, we conducted a population-based case-control study of women ages 18-49 years. We examined DNA variants in 9 TLR pathway genes in 431 recurrent cystitis (rUTI cases, 400 pyelonephritis cases, and 430 controls with no history of UTIs. In the Caucasian subgroup of 987 women, polymorphism TLR4_A896G was associated with protection from rUTI, but not pyelonephritis, with an odds ratio (OR of 0.54 and a 95% confidence interval (CI of 0.31 to 0.96. Polymorphism TLR5_C1174T, which encodes a variant that abrogates flagellin-induced signaling, was associated with an increased risk of rUTI (OR(95%CI: 1.81 (1.00-3.08, but not pyelonephritis. Polymorphism TLR1_G1805T was associated with protection from pyelonephritis (OR(95%CI: 0.53 (0.29-0.96. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide the first evidence of associations of TLR5 and TLR1 variants with altered risks of acquiring rUTI and pyelonephritis, respectively. Although these data suggest that TLR polymorphisms are associated with adult susceptibility to UTIs, the statistical significance was modest and will require further study including validation with independent cohorts.

This study investigates Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-positive macrophages in early recognition and clearance of pulmonary bacteria. TLR4 is a trans-membrane receptor that is the primary recognition molecule for lipopolysaccharide of gram-negative bacteria. The TLR4(Lps-del) mouse strains C57BL10/ScN (B10) and STOCK Abb(tm1) TLR4(Lps-del) Slc11a1(s)(B10 x C2D) are susceptible to pulmonary infections and develop pneumonia when naturally or experimentally infected by the opportunistic bacterium Pasteurella pneumotropica. Since these mice have the TLR4(Lps-del) genotype, we hypothesized that reconstitution of mice with TLR4-positive macrophages would provide resistance to this bacterium. A cultured macrophage cell line (C2D macrophages) and bone marrow cells from C2D mice were adoptively transferred to B10 and B10 x C2D mice by intraperitoneal injection. C2D macrophages increased B10 and B10 x C2D mouse resistance to P. pneumotropica. In C2D-recipient mice there was earlier transcription of tumor necrosis factor alpha and chemokines JE and macrophage inflammatory protein 2 (MIP-2) in the lungs of B10 and B10 x C2D mice, and there was earlier transcription of KC and MIP-1alpha in B10 x C2D mice. In addition, the course of inflammation following experimental Pasteurella challenge was altered in C2D recipients. C2D macrophages also protected B10 x C2D mice, which lack CD4(+) T cells. These data indicate that macrophages are critical for pulmonary immunity and can provide host resistance to P. pneumotropica. This study indicates that TLR4-positive macrophages are important for early recognition and clearance of pulmonary bacterial infections.

Full Text Available Toll-like receptors (TLRs recognize evolutionarily-conserved molecular patterns originating from invading microbes. In this study, we were interested in determining if microbial ligands, which use distinct TLR2-containing receptor complexes, represent unique signals to the cell and can thereby stimulate unique cellular responses. Using the TLR2 ligands, R-FSL1, S-FSL1, Pam2CSK4, Pam3CSK4, and lipoteichoic acid (LTA, we demonstrate that these ligands activate NF-kappaB and MAP Kinase pathways with ligand-specific differential kinetics in murine macrophages. Most strikingly, LTA stimulation of these pathways was substantially delayed when compared with the other TLR2 ligands. These kinetics differences were associated with a delay in the LTA-induced expression of a subset of genes as compared with another TLR2 ligand, R-FSL1. However, this did not translate to overall differences in gene expression patterns four hours following stimulation with different TLR2 ligands. We extended this study to evaluate the in vivo responses to distinct TLR2 ligands using a murine model of acute inflammation, which employs intravital microscopy to monitor leukocyte recruitment into the cremaster muscle. We found that, although R-FSL1, S-FSL1, Pam2CSK4, and Pam3CSK4 were all able to stimulate robust leukocyte recruitment in vivo, LTA remained functionally inert in this in vivo model. Therefore distinct TLR2 ligands elicit unique cellular responses, as evidenced by differences in the kinetic profiles of signaling and gene expression responses in vitro, as well as the physiologically relevant differences in the in vivo responses to these ligands.

The toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) plays a key role in the activation of innate immune response participating in the recognition of lipopolysaccharides. Changes in the innate immune response are involved in the pathogenesis of some metabolic disorders such as metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus (Met-S and T2DM). It has been recently shown the role of gut microbiota in the perpetuation of both insulin resistance and low-grade chronic inflammation. Some studies have reported that TLR4 D299G polymorphism is associated with metabolic disorders, however results have been inconsistent. Two recent meta-analyses showed that D299G is associated with inflammatory bowel disease and gastrointestinal cancers risk, two pathological states in which the luminal microbial flora-host cells interaction may be implicated. We conducted a systemic review of the published data considering all eligible published studies (six studies with 1696 cases and 3388 controls for D299G) and a meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the association between TLR4 D299G polymorphism and the risk for metabolic disorders. Five studies were identified for T2DM: three corresponding to Caucasian populations and two to mixed populations. The remaining study analyzed Met-S in a Caucasian population. We observed a significant association between D299G polymorphism and metabolic disorders (T2DM and Met-S) risk (OR = 0.566, 95 % CI: 0.347-0.925, p = 0.023) particularly in Caucasians. No association was found in mixed population subgroup. Our meta-analysis identified that the AG/GG genotypes of D299G are associated with decreased metabolic disorders risk.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recently it has been reported that, toll-like receptors (TLRs are expressed on a series of tumor cells, such as colon cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, melanoma and lung cancer. Although some cancer cells like melanoma cells are known to respond to lipopolysaccharide (LPS via TLR4, not all cancer cells are positive for TLR4. There is little information on the expression and function of TLR4 in neuroblastoma cells. In this study, we investigated the expression of TLR4 in human neuroblastoma NB-1 cell line. Methods Expression and localization of TLR4 were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR and flow cytometric analysis, respectively. Activation of nuclear factor (NF-κB by LPS was detected by degradation of IκB-α and NF-κB luciferase assay. Activation and expression of mitogen-activated protein (MAP kinase and interferon regulatory factor (IRF-3 was detected by immunoblot analysis. Results Human NB-1 neuroblastoma cells expressed intracellular form of TLR4, but not the cell surface form. Further, NB-1 cells express CD14, MD2 and MyD88, which are required for LPS response. However, LPS did not significantly induce NF-κB activation in NB-1 cells although it slightly degraded IκB-α. NB-1 cells expressed no IRF-3, which plays a pivotal role on the MyD88-independent pathway of LPS signaling. Collectively, NB-1 cells are capable to avoid their response to LPS. Conclusion Although human NB-1 neuroblastoma cells possessed all the molecules required for LPS response, they did not respond to LPS. It might be responsible for intracellular expression of TLR4 or lack of IRF-3.

Platelets are nonnucleated cellular elements that play a role in the process of haemostasis, and also in various ways in innate immunity and in inflammation. Platelets also contain numerous secretory products and can exert critical roles in several aspects of haemostasis. In addition, they house and secrete a variety of cytokines, chemokines and associated molecules which behave as ligands for receptors/counterparts displayed by endothelial cells lining tissue vessels and most leukocyte subsets. These latter studies show that platelets have an important role in innate as well as adaptive immunity; thus platelets can take part in an immune directive response. Moreover, platelets display receptors for several types of cytokines/chemokines along with FcgammaRII receptors. Finally, platelets not only express a variety of Toll-like receptors, with recently identified functions or not as-yet fully identified, but have also been demonstrated to express the key tandem pair of inflammatory and antigen presentation molecules (CD40 and CD40-ligand/CD154), this latter function making them the major purveyors of soluble CD40L in the plasma. It appears that platelets may be regarded as one of the neglected components of immune cell regulators, and platelets contribute to some interesting aspects in bridging innate and adaptive immunity. We propose that platelets discriminate danger signals and adapt the subsequent responses, with polarized cytokine secretion. Platelets may recognize several types of infectious pathogens and limit microbial colonization by sequestering these pathogens and releasing immunomodulatory factors. This review allows us to re-explore indications that platelets exert direct anti-infection immunity and we will present experimentally-driven arguments in favour of a role of platelet TLR in regulating certain immune activities.

Full Text Available Toll-like receptors (TLRs are archetypal pattern recognition receptors of immediate importance for an efficacious innate immune response. TLRs exhibit marked differential tissue activity and their levels within a discrete cell type can be highly dynamic. Of 13 known mammalian paralogues, three TLRs have been identified in the dog. Although cardiac TLR expression has been reported in other species, this study is the first to present evidence that these innate immune receptors are expressed in the canine heart. Heart tissue samples from all four chambers were collected from healthy dogs immediately after euthanasia and stored at -80ºC until analysis. Total RNA was extracted with TRI Regent. Specific primers were designed for amplification of canine TLR2 and TLR4 based on previously reported sequences for these genes. Reverse transcription was performed with M-MLV reverse transcriptase. PCR amplification was performed and PCR products analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Bands were excised from the gel and the DNA isolated and cloned using the TA Cloning® Kit. The correct sequence for each product was verified by nucleotide sequencing. TLR4 expression was detected in the left ventricle and right atrium; TLR2 was detectable at low levels in the right atrium only. Identity of the RT-PCR products was confirmed by sequencing. Our findings show that at least two TLR paralogues- namely TLR2 and TLR4 - are expressed in the canine heart. Additional studies are warranted to determine these immune receptors' potential implication in the development of naturally occurring heart disease in the dog.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Toll-like receptor (TLR signalling is crucial for innate immune responses to infection. The involvement of TLRs in otitis media (OM, the most prevalent childhood disease in developed countries, has been implicated by studies in middle ear cell lines, by association studies of TLR-related gene polymorphisms, and by altered OM in mice bearing mutations in TLR genes. Activated TLRs signal via two alternative intracellular signaling molecules with differing effects; MyD88 (Myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 inducing primarily interleukin expression and TRIF (Tir-domain-containing adaptor inducing interferon β mediating type I interferon (IFN expression. We tested the hypothesis that TRIF and type I IFN signaling play a role in OM, using a murine model of OM induced by non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi. The ME inflammatory response to NTHi was examined in wild-type (WT and TRIF-/- mice by qPCR, gene microarray, histopathology and bacterial culture. Results Expression of TRIF mRNA was only modesty enhanced during OM, but both type I IFN signalling genes and type I IFN-inducible genes were significantly up-regulated in WT mice. TRIF-deficient mice showed reduced but more persistent mucosal hyperplasia and less leukocyte infiltration into the ME in response to NTHi infection than did WT animals. Viable bacteria could be cultured from MEs of TRIF-/- mice for much longer in the course of disease than was the case for middle ears of WT mice. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that activation of TRIF/type I IFN responses is important in both the pathogenesis and resolution of NTHi-induced OM.

Background Cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for lung cancer, asthma, and oral cancer, and is central to the altered innate immune responsiveness to infection. Many hypotheses have provided evidence that cigarette smoking induces more genetic changes in genes involved in the development of many cigarette-related diseases. This alteration may be from single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in innate immunity genes, especially the toll-like receptors (TLRs). Objective In this study, the genotype frequencies of TLR2 and TLR6 in smoking and nonsmoking population were examined. Methods Saliva samples were collected from 177 smokers and 126 nonsmokers. The SNPs used were rs3804100 (1350 T/C, Ser450Ser) and rs3804099 (597 T/C, Asn199Asn) for TLR2 and rs3796508 (979 G/A, Val327Met) and rs5743810 (745 T/C, Ser249Pro) for TLR6. Results Results showed that TLR2 rs3804100 has a significant effect in short-term smokers (OR =2.63; P=0.04), and this effect is not observed in long-term smokers (>5 years of smoking). Therefore, this early mutation may be repaired by the DNA repair system. For TLR2 rs3804099, the variation in genotype frequencies between the smokers and control patients was due to a late mutation, and its protective role appears only in long-term smokers (OR =0.40, P=0.018). In TLR6 rs5743810, the TT genotype is significantly higher in smokers than in nonsmokers (OR =6.90). The effect of this SNP is observed in long-term smokers, regardless of the smoking regime per day. Conclusion TLR2 (rs3804100 and rs3804099) and TLR6 (rs5743810) can be used as a potential index in the diagnosis and prevention of more diseases caused by smoking. PMID:27920557

Tolerance to bacterial cell wall components including lipopolysaccharide (LPS) may represent an essential regulatory mechanism during bacterial infection. Two members of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family, TLR2 and TLR4, recognize the specific pattern of bacterial cell wall components. TLR4 has been found to be responsible for LPS tolerance. However, the role of TLR2 in bacterial lipoprotein (BLP) tolerance and LPS tolerance is unclear. Pretreatment of human THP-1 monocytic cells with a synthetic bacterial lipopeptide induced tolerance to a second BLP challenge with diminished tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6 production, termed BLP tolerance. Furthermore, BLP-tolerized THP-1 cells no longer responded to LPS stimulation, indicating a cross-tolerance to LPS. Induction of BLP tolerance was CD14-independent, as THP-1 cells that lack membrane-bound CD14 developed tolerance both in serum-free conditions and in the presence of a specific CD14 blocking monoclonal antibody (MEM-18). Pre-exposure of THP-1 cells to BLP suppressed mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation and nuclear factor-kappaB activation in response to subsequent BLP and LPS stimulation, which is comparable with that found in LPS-tolerized cells, indicating that BLP tolerance and LPS tolerance may share similar intracellular pathways. However, BLP strongly enhanced TLR2 expression in non-tolerized THP-1 cells, whereas LPS stimulation had no effect. Furthermore, a specific TLR2 blocking monoclonal antibody (2392) attenuated BLP-induced, but not LPS-induced, tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6 production, indicating BLP rather than LPS as a ligand for TLR2 engagement and activation. More importantly, pretreatment of THP-1 cells with BLP strongly inhibited TLR2 activation in response to subsequent BLP stimulation. In contrast, LPS tolerance did not prevent BLP-induced TLR2 overexpression. These results demonstrate that BLP tolerance develops through down-regulation of TLR2

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in toll-like receptors (TLR) 1, 2, and 6 impair cell signaling in response to spirochetal lipoproteins. We investigated whether common SNPs in TLR1, TLR2, or TLR6 were associated with laboratory- or clinically-defined neurosyphilis. Polymorphisms in the genes for TLR1 (a T→G mutation at position 1805), TLR2 (a G→A mutation at position 2258), and TLR6 (a C→T mutation at position 745) were sought in 456 white patients with syphilis. Laboratory-defined neurosyphilis included a reactive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test. Clinically-defined neurosyphilis included new vision or hearing loss. Controls had CSF white blood cells of 5/μL or less, nonreactive CSF-Venereal Disease Research Laboratory, and no vision or hearing loss. Overall, 26.2% of patients had laboratory-defined and 36.2% had clinically-defined neurosyphilis. Compared with controls, patients with any of the 3 SNPs were more likely to have laboratory-defined neurosyphilis. Those with TLR2 or TLR6 SNPs were more likely to have clinically-defined neurosyphilis. These associations were independent of serum rapid plasma reagin titer. A common TLR1 polymorphism is associated with an increased risk of laboratory-defined neurosyphilis, and common TLR2 and TLR6 polymorphisms are associated with an increased risk of both laboratory- and clinically-defined neurosyphilis. These data suggest that host factors impact the natural history of syphilis.

Full Text Available Abstract Background Over the last decade, several studies have identified quantitative trait loci (QTL affecting variation of immune related traits in mammals. Recent studies in humans and mice suggest that part of this variation may be caused by polymorphisms in genes involved in Toll-like receptor (TLR signalling. In this project, we used a comparative approach to investigate the importance of TLR-related genes in comparison with other immunologically relevant genes for resistance traits in five species by associating their genomic location with previously published immune-related QTL regions. Results We report the genomic localisation of TLR1-10 and ten associated signalling molecules in sheep and pig using in-silico and/or radiation hybrid (RH mapping techniques and compare their positions with their annotated homologues in the human, cattle and mouse whole genome sequences. We also report medium-density RH maps for porcine chromosomes 8 and 13. A comparative analysis of the positions of previously published relevant QTLs allowed the identification of homologous regions that are associated with similar health traits in several species and which contain TLR related and other immunologically relevant genes. Additional evidence was gathered by examining relevant gene expression and association studies. Conclusion This comparative genomic approach identified eight genes as potentially causative genes for variations of health related traits. These include susceptibility to clinical mastitis in dairy cattle, general disease resistance in sheep, cattle, humans and mice, and tolerance to protozoan infection in cattle and mice. Four TLR-related genes (TLR1, 6, MyD88, IRF3 appear to be the most likely candidate genes underlying QTL regions which control the resistance to the same or similar pathogens in several species. Further studies are required to investigate the potential role of polymorphisms within these genes.

Full Text Available Ovine rinderpest or goat plague is an economically important and contagious viral disease of sheep and goats, caused by the Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV. Differences in susceptibility to goat plague among different breeds and water buffalo exist. The host innate immune system discriminates between pathogen associated molecular patterns and self antigens through surveillance receptors known as Toll like receptors (TLR. We investigated the role of TLR and cytokines in differential susceptibility of goat breeds and water buffalo to PPRV. We examined the replication of PPRV in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC of Indian domestic goats and water buffalo and demonstrated that the levels of TLR3 and TLR7 and downstream signalling molecules correlation with susceptibility vs resistance. Naturally susceptible goat breeds, Barbari and Tellichery, had dampened innate immune responses to PPRV and increased viral loads with lower basal expression levels of TLR 3/7. Upon stimulation of PBMC with synthetic TLR3 and TLR7 agonists or PPRV, the levels of proinflammatory cytokines were found to be significantly higher while immunosuppressive interleukin (IL 10 levels were lower in PPRV resistant Kanni and Salem Black breeds and water buffalo at transcriptional level, correlating with reduced viralloads in infected PBMC. Water buffalo produced higher levels of interferon (IFN α in comparison with goats at transcriptional and translational levels. Pre-treatment of Vero cells with human IFNα resulted in reduction of PPRV replication, confirming the role of IFNα in limiting PPRV replication. Treatment with IRS66, a TLR7 antagonist, resulted in the reduction of IFNα levels, with increased PPRV replication confirming the role of TLR7. Single nucleotide polymorphism analysis of TLR7 of these goat breeds did not show any marked nucleotide differences that might account for susceptibility vs resistance to PPRV. Analyzing other host genetic factors

Full Text Available Opioids have been widely applied in clinics as one of the most potent pain relievers for centuries, but their abuse has deleterious physiological effects beyond addiction. However, the underlying mechanism by which microglia in response to opioids remains largely unknown. Here we show that morphine induces the expression of Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9, a key mediator of innate immunity and inflammation. Interestingly, TLR9 deficiency significantly inhibited morphine-induced apoptosis in microglia. Similar results were obtained when endogenous TLR9 expression was suppressed by the TLR9 inhibitor CpGODN. Inhibition of p38 MAPK by its specific inhibitor SB203580 attenuated morphine-induced microglia apoptosis in wild type microglia. Morphine caused a dramatic decrease in Bcl-2 level but increase in Bax level in wild type microglia, but not in TLR9 deficient microglia. In addition, morphine treatment failed to induce an increased levels of phosphorylated p38 MAPK and MAP kinase kinase 3/6 (MKK3/6, the upstream MAPK kinase of p38 MAPK, in either TLR9 deficient or µ-opioid receptor (µOR deficient primary microglia, suggesting an involvement of MAPK and µOR in morphine-mediated TLR9 signaling. Moreover, morphine-induced TLR9 expression and microglia apoptosis appears to require μOR. Collectively, these results reveal that opioids prime microglia to undergo apoptosis through TLR9 and µOR as well. Taken together, our data suggest that inhibition of TLR9 and/or blockage of µOR is capable of preventing opioid-induced brain damage.

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Infections may be associated with exacerbation of allergic and autoimmune diseases. Paradoxically, epidemiological and experimental data have shown that some microorganisms can also prevent these pathologies. This observation is at the origin of the hygiene hypothesis according to which the decline of infections in western countries is at the origin of the increased incidence of both Th1-mediated autoimmune diseases and Th2-mediated allergic diseases over the last decades. We have tested whether Toll-like receptor (TLR stimulation can recapitulate the protective effect of infectious agents on allergy and autoimmunity. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Here, we performed a systematic study of the disease-modifying effects of a set of natural or synthetic TLR agonists using two experimental models, ovalbumin (OVA-induced asthma and spontaneous autoimmune diabetes, presenting the same genetic background of the non obese diabetic mouse (NOD that is highly susceptible to both pathologies. In the same models, we also investigated the effect of probiotics. Additionally, we examined the effect of the genetic invalidation of MyD88 on the development of allergic asthma and spontaneous diabetes. We demonstrate that multiple TLR agonists prevent from both allergy and autoimmunity when administered parenterally. Probiotics which stimulate TLRs also protect from these two diseases. The physiological relevance of these findings is further suggested by the major acceleration of OVA-induced asthma in MyD88 invalidated mice. Our results strongly indicate that the TLR-mediated effects involve immunoregulatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL-10 and transforming growth factor (TGF-beta and different subsets of regulatory T cells, notably CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ T cells for TLR4 agonists and NKT cells for TLR3 agonists. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These observations demonstrate that systemic administration of TLR ligands can suppress both allergic and autoimmune responses

Recent studies have suggested that toll-like receptors (TLRs) contribute to insulin resistance, and that fatty acids have a role in TLR activation. Other studies have found that TLR2 and TLR4 upregulation is consistent with an increase in serum lipid. Therefore, it was hypothesized that TLRs are associated with hyperlipidemia. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether TLR2 or TLR4 was associated with hyperlipidemia and to provide novel targets for hyperlipidemia therapy. Volunteers were selected at the Medical Examination Center of Hebei General Hospital (Shijiazhuang, China), including 43 patients with high triglyceride (TG) levels, 84 with high total cholesterol (TC) levels and 55 with high TG and high TC levels. In addition, 68 healthy volunteers were selected as a control group. For the animal study, the TLR gene and protein levels were assessed in the skeletal muscle of rats fed a high‑fat diet. As expected, TLR2 and TLR4 gene expression were upregulated when TC increased, TG increased, or TC and TG increased. In rats fed a high‑fat diet, the levels of gene and protein expression in the skeletal muscle of the two TLRs were all increased compared with the control group, this was consistent with an increase in TC and TG. In addition, in drug treatment groups the mRNA and protein expression levels of TLR in the skeletal muscle of rats fed a high fat diet were decreased, as were the TC and TG levels. In conclusion, these findings suggest that TLR2 and TLR4 are associated with hyperlipidemia.

Although several studies have demonstrated that airway exposure to diesel exhaust particles (DEP) induces lung inflammation, the signaling pathways involved in the pathogenesis remain unclear. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are generally accepted to be pathogen recognition receptors in mammalians. In the present study, we investigated the role of TLR-4 in DEP-induced lung inflammation and cytokine expression in the lung in TLR-4 point mutant (C3H/HeJ) mice and corresponding control (C3H/HeN) mice. Both the types of mice were randomized into four experimental groups that received vehicle or DEP (12 mg/kg body weight) by intratracheal instillation (n=8-10 in each group). Cellular profile of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, expressions of cytokines and chemokines in the lung, and circulatory fibrinogen levels were evaluated 24 h after the instillation.DEP challenge revealed a significant increase in the numbers of total cells and neutrophils in the BAL fluid as compared to vehicle challenge, however, the numbers were less in C3H/HeJ mice than in C3H/HeN mice. DEP exposure significantly induced the lung expression of interleukin (IL)-1{beta}, keratinocyte chemoattractant (KC), and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1{alpha} when compared to vehicle challenge in both genotypes of mice. In the presence of DEP, the level of MIP-1{alpha} was significantly lower in C3H/HeJ mice than in C3H/HeN mice, however, the levels of IL-1{beta}, KC, and fibrinogen showed opposite findings. These results suggest that TLR-4 is one of recognition receptors against DEP in the airways. (orig.)

Background Toll like receptor (TLR) 9 has been shown to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in animal models.Its pathogenic role in human SLE,however,was poorly elucidated.This study was performed to investigate the role of TLR9 involved in the aberrant signaling pathway and its correlation with disease activity in SLE.Methods mRNA level of TLR9 and interferon (IFN) regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).IFN-α expression was measured in the serum of the SLE patients by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Results TLR9 expression was significantly higher in SLE patients than that in health controls (P=-0.011).SLE patients with positive anti-dsDNA antibody had significantly higher expression of TLR9 than that with negative anti-dsDNA antibody (P=0.001).TLR9 expression was positively correlated with fever (P=0.017),alopecia (P=0.046),safety of estrogens in lupus erythematosus national assessment SLE disease activity index (SELENA-SLEDAI) score (rs=0.385,P=0.003),and the level of IRF5 (rs=0.35,P=0.027) and IFN-α (rs=0.627,P=0.001) in SLE patients.Conclusion TLR9 is associated with SLE disease activity and might be involved in the IFN-α pathway of SLE.

Fcγ receptor (FcγR) clustering on monocytes/macrophages results in phagocytosis and inflammatory cytokine production, which serve to eliminate antibody-opsonized targets and activate neighboring immune cells. Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), which recognizes a range of both bacterial and fungal components, elicits strong proinflammatory responses in these cells when stimulated by ligands, either natural or synthetic. Thus, we explored the possibility that TLR2 agonists could strengthen FcγR activity within the context of antibody therapy. Human peripheral blood monocytes treated with the TLR2 agonist Pam2CSK4 showed significantly enhanced FcγR-mediated cytokine production as well as phagocytic ability. An examination of the molecular mechanism behind this enhancement revealed increased expression of both FcγRIIa and the common γ subunit following Pam2CSK4 treatment. Interestingly however, expression of the inhibitory receptor FcγRIIb was also modestly increased. Further investigation revealed that Pam2CSK4 also dramatically decreased the expression of SHIP, the major mediator of FcγRIIb inhibitory activity. Using a murine Her2/neu solid tumor model of antibody therapy, we found that Pam2CSK4 significantly enhanced the ability of anti-Her2 antibody to reduce the rate of tumor growth. To verify that the FcγR enhancement was not unique to the diacylated Pam2CSK4, we also tested Pam3CSK4, a related triacylated TLR2 agonist. Results showed significant enhancement in FcγR function and expression. Taken together, these findings indicate that TLR2 activation can positively modulate FcγR and suggest that TLR2 agonists should be considered for testing as adjuvants for antitumor antibody therapy.

Fcγ receptor (FcγR) clustering on monocytes/macrophages results in phagocytosis and inflammatory cytokine production, which serve to eliminate antibody-opsonized targets and activate neighboring immune cells. Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), which recognizes a range of both bacterial and fungal components, elicits strong proinflammatory responses in these cells when stimulated by ligands, either natural or synthetic. Thus, we explored the possibility that TLR2 agonists could strengthen FcγR activity within the context of antibody therapy. Human peripheral blood monocytes treated with the TLR2 agonist Pam2CSK4 showed significantly enhanced FcγR-mediated cytokine production as well as phagocytic ability. An examination of the molecular mechanism behind this enhancement revealed increased expression of both FcγRIIa and the common γ subunit following Pam2CSK4 treatment. Interestingly however, expression of the inhibitory receptor FcγRIIb was also modestly increased. Further investigation revealed that Pam2CSK4 also dramatically decreased the expression of SHIP, the major mediator of FcγRIIb inhibitory activity. Using a murine Her2/neu solid tumor model of antibody therapy, we found that Pam2CSK4 significantly enhanced the ability of anti-Her2 antibody to reduce the rate of tumor growth. To verify that the FcγR enhancement was not unique to the diacylated Pam2CSK4, we also tested Pam3CSK4, a related triacylated TLR2 agonist. Results showed significant enhancement in FcγR function and expression. Taken together, these findings indicate that TLR2 activation can positively modulate FcγR and suggest that TLR2 agonists should be considered for testing as adjuvants for antitumor antibody therapy. PMID:23504312

Organic dust exposure in agricultural environments results in significant airway inflammatory diseases. Gram-positive cell wall components are present in high concentrations in animal farming dusts, but their role in mediating dust-induced airway inflammation is not clear. This study investigated the role of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2, a pattern recognition receptor for gram-positive cell wall products, in regulating swine facility organic dust extract (DE)-induced airway inflammation in mice. Isolated lung macrophages from TLR2 knockout mice demonstrated reduced TNF-α, IL-6, keratinocyte chemoattractant/CXCL1, but not macrophage inflammatory protein-2/CXCL2 expression, after DE stimulation ex vivo. Next, using an established mouse model of intranasal inhalation challenge, we analyzed bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and lung tissue in TLR2-deficient and wild-type (WT) mice after single and repetitive DE challenge. Neutrophil influx and select cytokines/chemokines were significantly lower in TLR2-deficient mice at 5 and 24 hours after single DE challenge. After daily exposure to DE for 2 weeks, there were significant reductions in total cellularity, neutrophil influx, and TNF-α, IL-6, CXCL1, but not CXCL2 expression, in TLR2-deficient mice as compared with WT animals. Lung pathology revealed that bronchiolar inflammation, but not alveolar inflammation, was reduced in TLR2-deficient mice after repetitive exposure. Airway hyperresponsiveness to methacholine after dust exposure was similar in both groups. Finally, airway inflammatory responses in WT mice after challenge with a TLR2 agonist, peptidoglycan, resembled DE-induced responses. Collectively, these results demonstrate that the TLR2 pathway is important in regulating swine facility organic dust-induced airway inflammation, which suggests the importance of TLR2 agonists in mediating large animal farming-induced airway inflammatory responses.

Full Text Available Infectious diseases have been paramount among the threats to health and survival throughout human evolutionary history. Natural selection is therefore expected to act strongly on host defense genes, particularly on innate immunity genes whose products mediate the direct interaction between the host and the microbial environment. In insects and mammals, the Toll-like receptors (TLRs appear to play a major role in initiating innate immune responses against microbes. In humans, however, it has been speculated that the set of TLRs could be redundant for protective immunity. We investigated how natural selection has acted upon human TLRs, as an approach to assess their level of biological redundancy. We sequenced the ten human TLRs in a panel of 158 individuals from various populations worldwide and found that the intracellular TLRs -- activated by nucleic acids and particularly specialized in viral recognition -- have evolved under strong purifying selection, indicating their essential non-redundant role in host survival. Conversely, the selective constraints on the TLRs expressed on the cell surface -- activated by compounds other than nucleic acids -- have been much more relaxed, with higher rates of damaging nonsynonymous and stop mutations tolerated, suggesting their higher redundancy. Finally, we tested whether TLRs have experienced spatially-varying selection in human populations and found that the region encompassing TLR10-TLR1-TLR6 has been the target of recent positive selection among non-Africans. Our findings indicate that the different TLRs differ in their immunological redundancy, reflecting their distinct contributions to host defense. The insights gained in this study foster new hypotheses to be tested in clinical and epidemiological genetics of infectious disease.

Full Text Available Expression and function of Toll-like receptors (TLRs in multiple myeloma (MM has recently become the focus of several studies. Knowledge of expression and biology of these receptors in MM will provide us with a new insight into the role of an inflammatory environment in disease progression or pathogenesis of MM. However, to date a quite heterogeneous expression pattern of TLRs in MM particularly at gene level has been described while information on the TLR expression at the protein level is largely unavailable. In this study, we investigated the TLR expression in human myeloma cell lines (HMCLs Fravel, L363, UM6, UM9, OPM1, OPM2, U266, RPMI 8226, XG1, and NCI H929 and primary cells from MM patients at both mRNA and protein level (western blot and flow cytometry. We found that all cell lines and primary cells expressed TLR1, TLR3, TLR4, TLR7, TLR8, and TLR9 mRNA and protein. TLR2 and TLR5 were expressed by the majority of HMCLs at mRNA but were not detectable at protein level, while primary samples showed a low level of TLR2, TLR3 and TLR5 protein expression. Our results indicate that MM cells express a broad range of TLRs with a degree of disparity between gene and protein expression pattern. The clear expression of TLRs in MM cells indicates a propensity for responding to tumor-induced inflammatory signals, which seem inevitable in the MM bone marrow environment.

Full Text Available Members of the family Suidae have diverged over extended evolutionary periods in diverse environments, suggesting that adaptation in response to endemic infectious agents may have occurred. Toll-like receptors (TLRs comprise a multigene family that acts as the first line of defense against infectious microbes at the host-environment interface. We hypothesized that across the Suidae, positive selection mediated by infectious agents has contributed to the evolution of TLR diversity. Thus, we analyzed Sus scrofa, Sus barbatus, Sus verrucosus, Sus celebensis, Sus scebifrons, Babyrousa babyrussa, Potamochoerus larvatus, Potamochoerus porcus and Phacochoerus africanus genomes. Specifically, analyses were performed to identify evidence of positive selection using Maximum likelihood (ML methods within a phylogenetic framework for bacterial and viral sensing Suidae TLR extracellular domains. Our analyses did not reveal evidence of positive selection for TLR3 and TLR7, suggesting strong functional conservation among these two genes for members of the Suidae. Positive selection was inferred for Suidae TLR1, TLR2, TLR6 and TLR8 evolution. ML methods identified amino acid sites of the bacterial sensing TLR1, TLR2, TLR6 and the viral sensing TLR8 to be under persistent positive selection. Some of these sites are in close proximity to functionally relevant sites, further strengthening the case for pathogen mediated selection for these sites. The branch leading to the genus Sus demonstrated evidence of episodic positive selection for TLR1, indicating selection mediated by infectious agents encountered within the specific geographic origin of the Sus. These results indicate that species of the Suidae have positively selected residues within functional domains of TLRs reflective of prior infections. Thus, TLR genes represent candidates for experimental validation to determine their functional role in antibacterial and antiviral activity within members of the

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) activation mediates renal injury in regional ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) models generated by clamping renal pedicles. However, it remains unclear whether TLR4 is causal in the kidney injury following global I/R induced by cardiac arrest (CA) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The present study used wild-type (C3H/HeN) and TLR4-mutant (C3H/HeJ) mice to produce the CA/CPR model. CA was induced by injection of cold KCl and left untreated for different time periods. After resuscitation (72 h), the level of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (Scr), as well as histological changes in renal tissue were assessed to evaluate the severity of acute kidney injury (AKI). The expression of TLR4, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), myeloperoxidase (MPO) and growth-regulated oncogene-β (GRO-β) in kidney tissues was detected. The results demonstrated that the levels of Scr and BUN increased significantly in C3H/HeN and C3H/HeJ mice after CPR. CPR also resulted in increased expression of TLR4, ICAM-1, GRO-β and MPO in a CA-duration dependent manner. However, there was decreased expression of ICAM-1, GRO-β and MPO in C3H/HeJ mice compared with that in C3H/HeN mice. C3H/HeJ mice were resistant to AKI as demonstrated by the minor changes in renal histology and function following CPR. In conclusion, mice suffered from AKI after successful CPR and severe AKI occurred in mice with prolonged CA duration. TLR4 and its downstream signaling events that promote neutrophil infiltration via ICAM-1 and GRO-β may be important in mediating inflammatory responses to renal injury after CPR. PMID:27510583

Cobalt-chrome alloy is a widely used biomaterial in joint replacements, dental implants and spinal rods. Although it is an effective and biocompatible material, adverse reactions to metal debris (ARMD) have arisen in a minority of patients, particularly in those with metal-on-metal bearing hip replacements. There is currently no treatment for ARMD and once progressive, early revision surgery of the implant is necessary. Therapeutic agents to prevent, halt or reverse ARMD would therefore be advantageous. Cobalt ions activate Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), an innate immune receptor responsible for inflammatory responses to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) resulting in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. We hypothesised that anti-TLR4 neutralising antibodies, reported to inhibit TLR4-mediated inflammation, could prevent the inflammatory response to cobalt ions in an in vitro macrophage cell culture model. This study shows that a monoclonal anti-TLR4 antibody inhibited cobalt-mediated increases in pro-inflammatory IL8, CCL20 and IL1A expression, as well as IL-8 secretion. In contrast, a polyclonal antibody did not prevent the effect of cobalt ions on either IL-8 or IL1A expression, although it did have a small effect on the CCL20 response. Interestingly, both antibodies inhibited cobalt-mediated neutrophil migration although the greater effect was observed with the monoclonal antibody. In summary our data shows that a monoclonal anti-TLR4 antibody can inhibit cobalt-mediated inflammatory responses while a polyclonal antibody only inhibits the effect of specific cytokines. Anti-TLR4 antibodies have therapeutic potential in ARMD although careful antibody design is required to ensure that the LPS response is preserved.

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Adjuvants serve as catalysts of the innate immune response by initiating a localized site of inflammation that is mitigated by the interactions between antigens and toll like receptor (TLR proteins. Currently, the majority of vaccines are formulated with aluminum based adjuvants, which are associated with various side effects. In an effort to develop a new class of adjuvants, agonists of TLR proteins, such as bacterial products, would be natural candidates. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS, a major structural component of gram negative bacteria cell walls, induces the systemic inflammation observed in septic shock by interacting with TLR-4. The use of synthetic peptides of LPS or TLR-4 agonists, which mimic the interaction between TLR-4 and LPS, can potentially regulate cellular signal transduction pathways such that a localized inflammatory response is achieved similar to that generated by adjuvants. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We report the identification and activity of several peptides isolated using phage display combinatorial peptide technology, which functionally mimicked LPS. The activity of the LPS-TLR-4 interaction was assessed by NF-κB nuclear translocation analyses in HEK-BLUE™-4 cells, a cell culture model that expresses only TLR-4, and the murine macrophage cell line, RAW264.7. Furthermore, the LPS peptide mimics were capable of inducing inflammatory cytokine secretion from RAW264.7 cells. Lastly, ELISA analysis of serum from vaccinated BALB/c mice revealed that the LPS peptide mimics act as a functional adjuvant. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data demonstrate the identification of synthetic peptides that mimic LPS by interacting with TLR-4. This LPS mimotope-TLR-4 interaction will allow for the development and use of these peptides as a new class of adjuvants, namely TLR-4 agonists.